Us, Finally
by StoneyLake
Summary: What I think should have happened when Luke and Lorelai first got together. Starts off right in the doorway of the Dragonfly in the season 4 closer. Java Junkie forever!
1. Chapter 1

Gilmore Girls- Us, Finally

A/N: Takes place at the very end of the episode where Lorelai and Luke first get together. What I think should have happened .

Luke advanced towards Lorelai, and for a second her blood ran cold.

"What are you doing?" she asked softly.

"Would you just stand still?" Luke asked, more like stated. He took that final step of 6 inches between him and Lorelai, gathered her in his arms, and kissed her. This was what he should have done a long time ago, and how good it felt. Lorelai pulled his closer and then they broke apart. There was again about 6 inches in between them, and Lorelai slowly closed that space in.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked, imitating Lorelai. He momentarily forgot to breathe.

"Would you just stand still?" Lorelai kissed Luke differently than he had kissed her. His was a question, more of an idea of the possibility of them. And now Lorelai was answering him- she wanted more than just that possibility, she wanted him. Finally. They pulled apart again, and leaned in at the same time. There could have been a nuclear explosion and they wouldn't have noticed. But something, perhaps not worse than a nuclear explosion, but very possibly more disturbing, stopped them. Kirk was running down the steps of the Dragonfly, with only a pillow as cover.

"Kirk!" Luke yelled after him. "I'll be back!" he shouted back to Lorelai, halfway down the yard as he pursued Kirk.

Lorelai felt as though a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. And it was strange, too, because she didn't even know that the weight was there. She felt as though the lightest breeze might just simply blow her away. Lorelai smiled giddily and gave a small, girlish twirl. She floated to her car, and drove home without thinking about anything besides Luke. Luke. Luke! Luke, coffee Luke, her Luke. Her boyfriend, Luke? Was he her boyfriend? Was she his girlfriend? Luke!

Lorelai drove up in her driveway, and, feeling as though she might explode in a burst of giggles and smiles that she didn't even know she had in her, skipped up to the front door. She swung it open majestically and screamed. It wasn't a scared scream, an angry scream, not even a confused scream. She screamed because she finally realized just how wonderful Luke was. And why he had done everything for her. Fixed the porch rail. Helped her buy the Dragonfly. Had he really liked her for that long? As long as everyone else thought? She also realized that her heart leapt everytime he smiled at her. When they bumped against each other. Maybe she had liked him forever too, and she just didn't realize it.

"Rory!" Lorelai called gleefully. "Rory, bun, you gotta get over her right now!"

"Right here, mom." Rory yelled from inside the kitchen. "We're in here." Lorelai paused. We? Lane, we? Who, we? She tried to peer around the wall cautiously to see the we. And then she stopped right in her tracks.

"Jess. Hi."

"Lorelai."

"Mom, Jess has been spending some time in California and he came back by Stars Hollow to see Luke. He swung bye to say hi."

"I was just leaving. Sorry to interrupt anything. Rory, tomorrow, 7 o'clock?"

"Ok. Bye." Rory smiled.

"Bye." Lorelai said, eyebrows raised. Jess raised his hand in a wave and sauntered out through the kitchen door. "Rory, anything you want to tell me?" Lorelai felt her giddiness slipping away slightly, although it was still gnawing at her insides.

"Jess and I are having dinner tomorrow night. We're talking about maybe getting back together."

"Are you sure he won't just leave again?"

"Mom."

"Fine."

"Did I hear you scream when you came in?" Rory asked. Lorelai broke into a huge grin. The giddiness was back.

"Luke."

"Oh my God!"

"He kissed me! And then I kissed him! And then Kirk ran down the stairs naked and Luke chased after him. Eeep!" Lorelai jumped and screamed again. Rory screamed too and jumped up to hug her mom. They jumped and screamed and giggled together until they were interrupted by a knock on the kitchen door.

"Are you OK?" Luke stuck his head in. The girls stopped leaping but still continued to smile.

"We're fine!" Rory laughed. "Oh my God!" She and her mom jumped some more until Luke stopped them.

"Something going on here?" He asked, confused. Rory ran over to him and wrapped him in a huge hug.

"We're just really, really happy!" she said to him before waving to her mom. "I'm gonna go take a walk. Find Jess."

"Jess?" Luke asked, even more confused. "Jess is here?" But Rory was already gone.

"Did you catch Kirk?" Lorelai asked, changing the subject. She really didn't want to talk about Jess right now.

"Yeah. After he streaked through half the town," he laughed and Lorelai melted. "I got him back in his room. I don't even think he woke up."

"So did he see-," Lorelai's cheeks burned red.

"No. I don't think so."

"Good. Cause I was thinking, let's just not tell anyone yet. You know how things are around here."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Luke laughed. Lorelai smiled and now it was his turn to felt as her sapphires gleamed and sparkled. He crossed the room and sat down in a chair, pulling one for Lorelai out first.

"Oooh, what a gentleman!" she remarked. Luke smiled slightly.

"So, you and Jason-,"

"Like I said, over."

"Good. Good. That's- good."

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I didn't notice it until now."

"Notice what?"

"Us, I guess. Us."

"Lorelai-,"

"No. I should have seen it. But now- yeah!" Lorelai giggled again. Luke smiled and Lorelai noticed for the first time that his eyes were like an ocean in midday sun, sparkly and serene. Gorgeous. Lorelai then noticed how extremely poetic and stupid she sounded. Luke would laugh. So they just sat there, talking and laughing, finally perfect.

This was just an opener, I'll add more tomorrow. The others chapters will be longer, too. To be continued!


	2. Second Beginnings

Second Beginnings

Lorelai and Rory stood outside of the diner.

"You go in first." Lorelai swung her hip to collide with Rory's.

"Why me?" Rory whined, stomping her foot.

"You've dated Jess before. You know how to walk in somewhere where you kissed the guy that works in it."

"Jess and I are not dating."

"I give you a week." Lorelai laughed but let out a yelp as Rory gave her a shove into the diner. "Mean!" she said, sitting down at their usual window table. When Luke looked over, her cheeks burned red and she tried to cover it with a menu.

"What, you need a menu now?" Luke asked with a small smile.

"Oh, yes. I've been hit with a severe case of amnesia that affected the part of my brain that stores menus." Lorelai hadn't put the menu down, but Luke pushed the top of it so it fell out of her hands.

"Ordering?"

"Oh! Wait! It's all coming back to me now… I want pancakes, waffles, and coffee!" Lorelai raised her voice triumphantly. There was a silence as she and Luke smiled at the same time and caught each other's eye.

"I'll take a blueberry muffin and coffee, Luke." Rory broke through the silence, which may not have been awkward to her mom or Luke, but was definitely awkward to her.

"Ok, then. I'll have Jess bring out your food."

"Thanks, Luke." Rory said nonchalantly. Lorelai grabbed a paper wrapped straw, pulled half of one end off, blew into the straw, and shot the wrapped across the diner at Luke's retreating back.

"Score!" she yelled, raising her arms in a cheer. Luke turned around.

"Still want food?" he asked, smirking. Lorelai let her arms fall back to the table.

"Hey, mom?" Rory asked, nudging her mom's arms with her own elbow.

"Yeah?"

"I think Luke wants you to follow him."

"What? Why?" Lorelai looked up and saw Luke staring at her out of the corner of his eye and jerking his head towards the back.

"I don't know. You're sort of together, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I guess. I mean, yes. Oh jeez, I'll go see." Lorelai tried to fight the smile that was trying to spread across her lips and went to the counter, then followed Luke to the storeroom. Jess suddenly popped out of the storeroom and went along as Luke had, looking out of the corner of his eye, jerking his head. With a furrowed brow, Rory got up and followed him into the back, where Luke and her mom were already standing around.

"Are we being taken hostage?" Lorelai giggled, pointing to a roll of duct tape.

"No. We were just thinking..." Luke trailed off and he pushed Jess forward.

"If you two wanted to, um…" Jess trailed off, too, and Luke, feeling pathetic, spoke up.

"Wanted to go out to dinner tonight." Rory and Lorelai exchanged looks.

"I'd love to." Lorelai piped up first, smiling broadly. Rory looked at Jess.

"Me, too," she said, still looking at Jess.

"Well, great then. Meet at 7 here?" He asked.

"Yeah." Lorelai and Rory chimed at the same time. Jess turned to leave, but Rory followed him out, leaving her mom and Luke in the back.

"Jess?" she asked timidly.

"Yeah?"

"Are we—dating?"

"I kinda thinking that maybe… we might be?" Jess offered. "Is that a good thing?"

"Oh, yes." Rory grinned, showing her pearly white teeth. "A very good thing. It's sort of like our second beginning. And this time, I don't have to watch you behind the back of a boyfriend." And she flounced back to her table.

In the storeroom, Luke and Lorelai were still talking.

"They're cute." Lorelai remarked at Rory and Jess.

"Yeah, they are."

"So…. Looking forward to tonight." Lorelai said, watching as Luke perked up a bit.

"Yeah. Me, too."

Rory and Lorelai were running around their house in a frenzy at 6:30.

"Isn't this weird?" Rory asked as she passed her mother in the hallway, struggling to put her hair back so she could put on a headband.

"What?" Lorelai was brushing her teeth, so it came out as more of a "Fwhawt?"

"We're double dating. Me and Jess, but then you and… Luke." Rory slipped a satin headband over her hair before the pieces along her ears broke free again.

"It is kind of weird. But Luke… I never thought that—," Lorelai spit her toothpaste into the kitchen sink.

"I never did, either. But I think it's good. I mean, look at all the stuff he's done for us. I really like him."

"Yeah, but I like him more!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Ew, mom, gross." Rory scrunched up her nose. Both hopping on one foot to get their shoes on, they hobbled out to the car to drive over to Luke's.

The guys were waiting for them upstairs, standing around nervously.

"Hey, you think we should go downstairs? They might get here and wonder…" Luke suggested. Jess walked downstairs, pulled two stools off of the counter, and sat down on one of them. Just in time, too, because just then a jeep pulled up.

"Luke!" Jess yelled, his heart pounding. Rory. He was going out with Rory. So what if his uncle and her mom were coming, too?

"Hi." Luke beat Jess to a hello as he got downstairs at the same moment as the door opened and the bell above it jingled cheerfully.

"Hi." Lorelai pushed her hair behind her ears.

"Hi." Rory played with her purse, swinging it around. They all just looked at each other for a moment. Jess was wearing black jeans, a white t-shirt, and a sports jacket. Luke wore a suit, black and white. Lorelai was wearing a dress with a layer of silky white material over a light blue dress. It flitted just under her knees, and matched her eyes perfectly. And Rory was wearing a black, elegant sweater with a white skirt that ended just about where her mom's did.

"You look beautiful," Luke whispered in Lorelai's ear as they walked out the door. He touched his hand to the small of her back and tingles shot all through Lorelai's body. Her knees went weak. Her brain stopped working. She looked over to Rory. Jess's arm was around her waist, and Rory seemed to sink into his touch. Well, she was used to it. Lorelai wondered if the tingles would ever stop with Luke. She didn't know if she wanted them to.

Luke drove Lorelai's jeep, with Lorelai in the passenger seat and Rory and Jess in the backseat, to a small, restaurant just outside of Hartford. The lights were dimmed inside, and the tables were draped with white tablecloths. Candles were on every table, and heart streamers hung from almost every wall.

"Ah, geez." Luke said, rolling his eyes. "It's stuffy in here." Lorelai giggled. These weren't her types of places, either. The near darkness and streamers were a little much.

"It's cute." She offered. Luke looked at her. "Ok, it's dark. But a nice thought. I like it."

"I didn't know-,"

"It's ok."

"This was Luke's choice," Jess said to Rory.

"It's romantic enough." Rory giggled. They were led to a table for 4 and menus, white and lacy, were handed to them. The waiter also threw confetti onto the table. They had to squint in the dark light to read the menus, eyes scrunched up. The waiter came back a few minutes later and lit a candle. Luke reached forward to try to read his menu, not realizing how close he had gotten. The menu caught fire.

"Luke! Your menu!" Lorelai tried to blow it out, taking huge breaths, but the paper was engulfed.

"Agh!" Luke exclaimed, throwing it on the floor and stomping it out. That earned them several dirty looks. Luke bent down to pick up the now fire-free menu, but, when he got up, snagged one of the lower hanging streamers. He thought it would just float to ground, which it did- but it brought half the streamers in the restaurant down with it. Apparently, they were all one big streamer.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but you must leave," The waiter ushered the foursome quickly out the door, slamming it behind them. Luke turned bright red.

"I'm sorry- I just wanted a nice dinner. I didn't know- and that menu was too flammable- I just wanted a perfect night- I'm sorry." Lorelai laughed.

"It's ok, Luke. I had fun. We can eat at the diner."

"You put on a funny show." Rory giggled along with her mother. They then drove all the way back to the diner, and Luke fried up some hamburgers.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather go somewhere else?" He asked as he sat down at a table with Lorelai. Rory and Jess sat at another table.

"I'm sure. I love your food."

"I'm really sorry."

"Don't be. This was the most interesting first date I've ever been on."

A few tables away, Rory and Jess were catching up.

"So, Rory, how's Yale?"

"Yale's good. Hard, but I'm having enough fun. What about you?"

"I'm writing a book."

"Really? What about?"

(A/N: I forgot what Jess's book is about, so I made something up.) "The journey of life. It's not as lame as it sounds; it's about how hard it really is to grow up. The decisions that people face everyday and how they effect out lives."

The conversations went on for many hours, until Luke and Jess drove Lorelai and Rory home. They said goodbye on the front porch.

"I had fun tonight." Rory said to Jess.

"Yeah, me too. I'm sorry I ever left. I hope this can be a new beginning for us."

"Me too." Rory agreed before kissing him. She thought it might feel the same as it always did, as it had before. But it didn't. They were both more mature and their kiss was stronger. They pulled apart and waved goodbye, and Rory couldn't help but think that maybe she and Jess could make it this time.

"I promise a real date soon." Luke said to Lorelai.

"Hey, I had fun. It's nice to just talk."

"And you're good at it, too."

"So are you buddy."

"Well, goodnight Lorelai."

"Goodnight Luke." And they finally got the mutual kiss they had been interrupted from before. And Lorelai's eyes closed and she kissed him harder, happier than she had been in such a long time. Maybe forever. They finally broke apart, and Luke walked away with Jess. Lorelai smiled. Maybe Luke was the one.

A/N: I loved last night's episode! Especially when Rory and Luke were talking at the mall, when Lorelai was all silent. I think that was where she stats to begin to realize how much Luke meant/means to her. I can't wait until next week!

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

OK, so I've been doing some research, and have found some stuff out about episode 13. That's not next week, but the week after. Someone is supposed to die, but it's apparently very funny. I don't know how someone dying can be funny, but I'm eager to find out what happens. Also, I think, if I'm inferring right, that this is where Lorelai and Luke get back together!

To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- because I couldn't think of a better name

The sun rose over Star's Hollow, and Lorelai Gilmore was repeatedly striking her alarm clock with her fist while pulling her pillow with the pink pillowcase over her head of messy brown hair.

"Gah!" she exclaimed, finally getting up. She threw the sheets onto the other side of the bed and walked like a marionette downstairs, not bothering to pick her head up. Rays of sun poured into the living room windows, and Lorelai looked up, and then squinted. Stupid sun and its stupid brightness. Her feet padded into the kitchen, yawning. She pulled a chair out and collapsed into it, head resting on the table. She was nearly asleep again when Rory's bedroom door flew open and Rory came out, wearing a smile, an orange tank top, and jeans. (A/N: I don't what season the end of season 4 took place in, so let's just say the beginning of summer)

"Morning, mom!" she chirped cheerfully.

"Rory, my daughter, my best friend, you are seriously annoying me. What did I ever do to you to make you so cheery so early?" Lorelai pushed her hair out of her eyes and behind her ears, lifting her head to look at Rory.

"It's 10 o'clock."

"Early." Lorelai pointed out with a moan.

"Well, I just called Jess, and he's bringing over muffins, doughnuts, and coffee. I thought we could have a girls day in."

"Aw, no fair. Why can't Luke bring it over?"

"Because I don't want to kiss Luke." Rory sat down in a chair across from her mother.

"Yeah, and I don't want to kiss Jess."

"Good, then it's settled. I won't kiss Luke if you don't kiss Jess."

"Good." The girls shook on it as there was a loud beep from upstairs.

"Alarm clocks suck." Lorelai stated as she walked as fast as she could in her current state of not quite awakeness. It was blaring loud in her room, because the clock got louder the longer it went without being turned off. A knock on the front door distracted her. Yawning again, Lorelai stepped down the steps to at least say hi to Jess. He wasn't her first pick for Rory, but, then again, he never was.

"What, you got an alarm system or something?" he asked when Rory opened the door.

"You know what, Rory? I'm finding it awfully difficult to keep my promise." Lorelai said sarcastically. Jess just looked at her.

"I don't want to know." He said, shaking his head, before handing Lorelai a bag of food and Rory a small stack of books.

"Hemingway?" Rory asked with a smirk.

"Of course. Now I gotta go, the diner's swamped. For some reason, people enjoy greasy food cooked by a man named Cesar."

"Well, we always do." Rory said. Jess leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, but Rory turned her head so that he landed smack on her lips. Rory smiled. Jess was always a good kisser, even if only for a second.

"See ya." He said, and left, getting in Luke's truck, which he had driven there.

"Rory and Jess, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Lorelai chanted with a giggle.

"Mom and Luke, standing in a doorway!" Rory yelled after her. They both flopped down on the couch and turned on the T.V.

"Aw, look! Blue's Clues!" Lorelai smiled. "The clue's behind you! On the toy truck!"

"Mom, I don't think that you're mature enough for Blue's Clue's. You're demoted to Barney."

"Can I dance along with him?"

"Dora the Explorer."

"Swiper no swipey!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have coffee."

The girls sat on the couch, eating the food from Luke's and watching weird Saturday morning T.V. Lorelai finally turned it off when the doorbell rang again.

"I'll get it!" Rory exclaimed, jumping up.

"Expecting someone?"

"Well, Jess also said that he'd drop by at lunch. We were going to go for a walk."

"I'm going to the diner." They both got up and went to the door at the same time, Rory joining hands with Jess and walking off, and Lorelai getting in her Jeep and driving to the diner.

Luke was standing behind the counter, staring off into space, when Lorelai pulled up. There was no one in the diner, and he was basically in La-La Land.

"Hey, Luke. What's up?" Lorelai asked, sitting down at the counter and putting her purse on the seat next to her.

"Nothing. Just in La-La Land."

"Wow. I have never heard you say that before."

"Well, now you have. Hey, you left your bracelet here last night. Must've fallen off or something. It's upstairs, I'll go get it."

"I feel like Cinderella!" Lorelai exclaimed, following Luke upstairs.

"Here it is." Luke pulled Lorelai's bracelet off of the kitchen table.

"Thanks," Lorelai slid it onto her wrist. "I haven't been up here in a while." She walked around and immediately went for Luke's closet. "Aha! More flannel!"

"I like flannel."

"If a flannel store is ever broken into, and several thousand dollars worth of plaid is stolen, you're going to have to hide."

"That's how life is when you're a flannel thief."

"How many times did we just say flannel?" Lorelai laughed. She stopped when she noticed Luke looking at her. "What? Do I have a coffee moustache?"

"No. You're just really cute when you laugh," that made Lorelai smile even more. She crossed the room and hugged Luke really tight, pressing her face into his shoulder. She lifted her head gently, to gaze into his eyes. Their eyes met, and soon their lips, and, pretty soon, they were laying on the bed, every inch of them nearly touching.

"Lorelai?" Luke asked breathlessly.

"Yes?" Lorelai breathed into his neck.

"You're the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me."

"And you are definitely the best flannel thief in the world."

Rory and Jess walked through town, holding hands and talking.

"It feels kind of good to be back here." Jess said, looking around. "Not much has changed."

"It never really does. It just stays the same. I like that about it."

"Hey, let's go into the bookstore."

"Yeah!" Rory was still always happy to go in the bookstore, even if she had already read all of the books there anyway. "You know, one day, we're going to go into a bookstore, and there's going to be a book by Jess Mariano there."

"Maybe."

"Of course there is. And I want to read what you have done so far, mister."

"We can go over to the diner once we're done here."

"We're done!" Rory said excitedly, although they had really just walked in.

"Someone's eager." They walked out and down a few stores.

"Yeah, well, I want to see what you've been doing." The door to the diner opened, and the bell jingled. Rory didn't think to look for her mother or Luke; she wasn't really paying attention to anything except the feeling of Jess's hand in hers. In the stairway, Jess started to kiss her. They opened the door blindly, eyes closed as they kissed more, still not paying attention.

"Oh my God!" Rory screamed when she opened her eyes. There she was, making out with Jess, when, 10 feet away, her mother and Luke were making out on Luke's bed! Luke's fingers were on Lorelai back, looking nearly ready to pull her shirt off. Thank God he hadn't already started. Everyone looked up at the same time and screamed.

"Rory!"

"Mom!"

"Jess!"

"Luke!"

"Lorelai!"

"Rory!"

"Luke!"

"Jess!"

Luke and Lorelai leaped off of the bed, and Jess scratched his head, as he always did when he was nervous.

"Uh- Rory was just going to look at part of that book I started on…."

"Yeah, so, um, give her that, and then, uh, we'll go!" Lorelai said uncomfortably. Jess handed Rory some pieces of paper that he had copied already. It was the first chapter.

"Thanks." Rory blushed.

"Bye." Lorelai said to Luke, sort of waving. She gave Jess a small smile, Luke a bigger, more apologetic one, and pushed Rory out the door.

"We need some kind of signal." Rory proclaimed.

"Yeah, agreed." They walked downstairs, thankful that there was no one in the diner.

The weekend passed too quickly, and soon it was Monday.

"Be glad that you're in college and don't have to work." Lorelai said, kissing the top of Rory's head as she headed out the door on her way to the Inn.

"Oh, I am." Rory smirked.

"On second thought, maybe we should get you a job at Doose's." But Lorelai was smiling enough when she got to the Inn, realizing that she hadn't worked in the past few days since she and Luke had gotten together, and that she also hadn't seen Sookie around town. So, she had to tell her, which she was pretty much looking forward to.

"Sookie!" Lorelai sang out, opening the door to the kitchen.

"Hi, Lorelai. Taste this." Sookie pushed a wooden spoonful of an unknown substance into Lorelai's mouth.

"Oooh, yum. What is that?"

"Cheese sauce for the pasta for lunch."

"It's really good. Now, I have something to tell you."

"What?"

"OK, so, the other night… Luke was here."

"Right."

"And Jason told him that we were still together!"

"No!"

"Yes, and that made Luke very mad. But I told him that Jason was wrong, and we started yelling, and then- he kissed. And I kissed him back! And then I went home and found Rory and Jess in my kitchen, because Jess came back, and they got together, and now Luke and I are together, and we all went on a double date, and, in a summary, I'm going out with Luke!" Lorelai exclaimed quickly.

"Oh, honey, really!"

"Yes!"

"Yeah!" they bounced as Lorelai and Rory had, giggling and smiling. And Lorelai got that feeling. A tug in her chest. A breeze in her head. And a smile she couldn't wipe off of her face. Wow, she'd felt that before, but never like this. This was the feeling she got when she and Christopher were together such a long time ago. And Max. But, this time, she felt it much stronger, so much that it was difficult to even stand. And, in a flash, Lorelai had a question. Was she in love with Luke?

A/N: Ok, I've really wanted to write a chapter about Lorelai and Luke's feelings about maybe loving each other, and now I can! Hopefully, that will be the next one. I've got it all planned out n my head, so it shouldn't take very long to get up.

To be continued


	4. CD's and Memories

Note: I've forgotten to add this to the rest of the chapters, but I don't own Gilmore Girls, unless this is how it would have gone.

CD's and Memories

"Can I have a peanut butter and banana sandwich?" Kirk whined at Luke in the diner.

"No, Kirk. For the 500th time, I don't serve peanut butter and banana sandwiches."

"Do you have peanut butter?"

"Yes."

"Do you have bananas?"

"Yes, Kirk!"

"Just put them together, it's really quite simple. Mother makes them for me all the time."

"If I get you your stupid sandwich will you shut up and leave me alone?"

"Yes."

"One peanut butter and banana sandwich coming up." Luke sighed and turned around to tell Cesar the order. He looked at the clock, which read 9 o'clock. Lorelai should be coming by anytime now. Maybe she could help him get Kirk to shut up. The bell above the door jingled cheerfully, announcing the arrival of Lorelai and Rory. They were chatting about something; he couldn't tell what. They were talking too fast.

"What about pizza with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, extra cheese, mushrooms, and sprinkles?" Lorelai was asking Rory when Luke approached.

"You're going to die at a very young age." He remarked.

"Only because I looked at you." Lorelai joked.

"Well I'm a pretty heart stopping guy."

"That you are."

"Hey, do you want to do something next Saturday?" Luke asked Lorelai.

"Yeah, ok. I'll come by here around…."

"Noon is good."

"Alright. Noon then."

"Yeah, and just wear jeans or something."

"What? No fancy dinner?" Lorelai play gasped.

"I have something planned."

"Hello, anybody remember a poor, helpless, hungry girl over here?" Rory said, waving her hand at her mom and Luke.

"What do you want?" Luke asked, turning towards Rory.

"I know what mom wants…" Rory began. Lorelai elbowed her in the stomach.

"I want waffles and coffee. Rory'll take what ever you leave out in the alley for the dogs."

"Add some pancakes to that." Rory piped up.

"Be back in a minute."

A few days later….

"So, Jess is coming over?" Lorelai asked Rory as she almost fell down the stairs putting on a pair of red Nikes.

"Yeah. We're just going to watch movies, hang out. Eat popcorn."

"Have fun!" Lorelai called as she walked out the door and to her car. It was a short drive to Luke's, but she drove because it was hot outside, and also because it was already 12:03.

"Hey. Sorry I'm late." Lorelai said to Luke as she walked into the diner.

"It's ok. Cesar, I'm leaving!" Luke called to the kitchen. Cesar stuck his head out.

"You and Lorelai going somewhere?" he asked, and Luke and Lorelai suddenly remembered that no one from the town knew that they were together.

"Uh, no." Luke said before rushing out. He opened the passenger side door of his green truck for Lorelai.

"Where are we going?" she asked as he let himself in the driver's side door.

"It's a surprise."

"Are we driving to China?"

"Yes."

"How far is it?" Lorelai yawned. The sun was hitting her face and it was making her sleepy. He eyelids drooped.

"Not too far. Just go to sleep." Luke took his eyes off the road for a second to look at Lorelai and stroke her hair. Lorelai laid her head on the window and fell asleep quickly. Luke stared at her as he pulled onto the highway. The sun lit up her face, and her hair lightly dusted the back of her white t-shirt. Luke thought about how long he had known Lorelai. How long he liked her. He had known that he very possibly loved her since about the day they met. And that was confirmed that night at the Dragonfly. Luke Danes loved Lorelai Gilmore.

"Lorelai." Luke whispered into Lorelai's ear. They had arrived at his destination, and he was trying to wake Lorelai up. He kissed her cheek and her eyes fluttered open gently.

"Hi," she smiled, and Luke simply melted. "Are we in China yet?"

"Yes. But close your eyes."

"But Lllluuuukkkee…" Lorelai pouted.

"Just for a second." Lorelai shut her eyes and Luke noticed a freckle on her left eyelid. How cute. He opened his door, shut it, and walked around the back of his truck to open Lorelai's door.

"Ok, take my hand." He said as he opened the door. Lorelai reached for his hand and he helped her out. Luke turned her to face something. "Open." Lorelai's eyes opened, and, at almost the same time, her jaw dropped. Because she was facing the Empire State Building.

"Oh my God. Luke!" she squealed, wrapping her arms around Luke's neck and giving him a strong and passionate kiss on the lips. They pulled apart and Luke kissed the tip of her nose.

"Gorgeous," he said, trance like.

"It is, isn't it?" Lorelai leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I meant you," Luke kissed her hair, which was slight messy from her nap. "Ready?" he asked.

"For what?"

"To go up in it," Luke grabbed Lorelai's hand and began to run towards the building. Lorelai had never seen him run. She had never seen him smile so wide. No wonder she liked -loved?- him so much. They ran all the way up to the revolving doors, and then burst through those and into the elevator.

"Luke?" Lorelai finally spoke.

"Yeah?" Luke leaned against the back of the elevator. Lorelai took both of his hands and they swung their arms around a bit.

"I have to tell you something."

"What's that?"

"I've never been up so high before."

"Don't worry. I'll hold you close," Luke laughed.

"Well then maybe I'm really scared," Lorelai laughed along with him. There was a small ding and the elevator doors opened slowly, like curtains in a play. Luke firmly held Lorelai's hand and they walked across the roof, the only ones there. There were hundreds of people below them, scurrying like ants, in a hurry. Time was passing for them, but it wasn't for Luke and Lorelai. They stood along the wall at the edge, looking below, Lorelai clinging to Luke. After a second, she eased up a bit.

"You ok?" Luke asked, rubbing her arm. But Lorelai didn't say anything. She walked away quickly, to the other side of the roof.

"Lorelai!" Luke called, following her. But she stopped, looking over at New Jersey suburbs, at the quietness and slowness, rather than at the hustle and bustle of New York.

"They have lives. Just like us." Lorelai whispered. "They might not live as big or as fast as the people in New York. They're the more normal ones," Lorelai's' eyes glazed over, becoming even more striking blue. "Luke?" she turned to face him, now almost crying.

"Lorelai- what's wrong?" Luke placed his hands on Lorelai's shoulders, one on each.

"I love you," Lorelai said it shakily, but she had never been more certain of anything before in her life. Tears fell freely from her eyes and Luke felt as though he just might tear up as well.

"I love you, too." Luke wrapped his arms around Lorelai's stomach and picked her up, swinging her like in a movie he had seen so long ago. Time, which had almost stopped for them, now had. They had no reminder of the time passing on the other side of the roof. They could only see each other, and the quiet, normalness down below in New Jersey. They finally kissed, and Lorelai felt as though she might explode. She was on the top of the Empire State building. She and Luke had just exchanged 'I love you's. The sun was slowly slipping behind the New York City skyline. She buried in her face in Luke's neck, still crying tears of joy and happiness. Because this was it. This was love.

Rory sat on the couch in her mom's house, which was still technically hers, watching commercials. She moved her shoulders a little bit to a Manwich commercial.

"Oh mama, don't you make me another meatloaf. Forget the mac and cheese. I want some fun piled on a bun, I want a Manwich please," The doorbell rang during "Make tonight a Manwich night" and it startled her. Rory squealed out of sudden fright.

"Rory?" a voice called from outside.

"Oh, Jess, you scared me!" Rory exclaimed, jumping up and opening the door.

"I don't know how to respond to that." Jess chuckled as the door opened. He gave her a quick kiss.

"Like that." Rory said simply before flouncing back to the couch. A Sprint commercial was now on.

"It even protects us against meteors." A man was saying. The lawyer behind him shook his bald head. "Well, that's the word on the street." The other man said, putting his hands in the pockets of his black pants. Rory switched to the CW channel (hehe) and began to watch That 70's Show.

"I love this show!" she giggled, and Jess sat down beside her. Rory laid her head down on his chest, and Jess played with her hair a bit. It was the series finale, where a couple of the friends were at the water tower. Kelso was tricked into falling off. Rory switched the channel again and the Brady Bunch came on. It was the one where the girl got hit in the eye with a football.

"Remember when you got hit in the eye with a football?" Rory asked, tilting her head up to look at Jess's face. "It was when you were going to meet my grandma, and I thought that you got in a fight with Dean. You had a big black eye." Rory giggled slightly, but Jess looked at her, confused. Then his eyes shone with realization, and he laughed harder than Rory.

"Did I ever tell you that it wasn't a football?" he asked, an amused expression on his face.

"Was it a fight with Dean?" Rory asked, suddenly alarmed. Jess chucked.

"No."

"Then what was it?"

"A swan."

"What?"

"A swan. It beaked me."

"Beaked you?"

"Yeah, that's what Luke said. Then we went looking for it. It was an evil swan."

"You got attacked by a swan." Rory was hysterical.

"Said the girl who has probably fallen down a lot of stairs because she was holding too many books to see."

"Hey, that happened once." Rory said defensively. Jess raised his eyebrows. "Ok, maybe more like 3 or 4 times. Like it's never happened to you."

"As a matter of fact, it hasn't."

"Yeah, well at least I've never gotten a black eye because of a swan."

Lorelai and Luke were driving back to Star's Hollow from New York, playing the license plate game.

"I pick Connecticut!" Lorelai said as they crossed into Connecticut.

"I pick Ontario."

"What?"

"Ontario. It's in Canada."

"I know where it is, but the object of the game is to find the most license plates of your choice."

"Oh, look. Ontario," Luke pointed to a white car in front of them. Lorelai punched Luke in the arm.

"I quit," she announced. They talked for a little while and soon pulled up at the diner. "Thanks, Luke. I had a great time." Lorelai said, climbing out of his truck.

"Yeah. Me, too." They walked over to Lorelai's Jeep. They stood awkwardly for a second, until they both said, "I love you," at the same time. They kissed, first quickly. But, as Lorelai started to pull away, Luke brought her closer, arms around her waist.

"Is Rory expecting you home?" he breathed in her ear. Because if she wasn't, this could very possibly turn into something else.

"Yeah. I'm sorry." Lorelai said.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Can't wait." And Lorelai got in her car, waved goodbye to Luke, and drove off. When she got to her house, she made as much noise as possible so that Rory and Jess would hear her coming. She opened the door with her eyes squeezed shut.

"I'm home. I am closing the door. I am hanging up my coat. I am coming into the living room. Please be decent."

"Mom." Rory said from the couch. "You can open your eyes." Lorelai did and found Rory and Jess just sitting on the couch, watching television.

"Just trying to avoid a potentially embarrassing situation," Lorelai exclaimed.

"Well, I should get going. See you tomorrow." Jess said, getting up and leaving.

"Bye, Jess." Rory called after him.

The next day, Lorelai and Rory walked up to the diner.

"So, when are you and Luke going to announce that you're dating? And in love?" Rory asked before she opened the door.

"I don't know, kid. You know how this town is." Luke and Jess were standing behind the counter, cleaning, when the door opened. It was noon, and normally, there would be a large crowd of people at the diner, but today was all-you-can-eat egg roll day at Al's.

"Hey, Lorelai. Can I talk to you?" Luke asked immediately.

"Yeah, sure," Lorelai was confused by his immediate talking-ness. She followed Luke to the kitchen.

"I made you something," Luke said eagerly, pressing a CD and a large wad of paper into Lorelai's hand. "Jess told me how to burn a CD. At first I thought you really burned it or something, but you don't. It's like a mix tape, just on a CD." Luke scratched the back of his neck.

"Wow. Thank you, Luke," Lorelai started to unfold the paper.

"No, not yet. Read it later. It goes with the CD. It's lyrics and a couple of notes."

"Oh, ok. I'll do that." Lorelai left the kitchen, ordered, and ate quickly. "Hey, hun, I'm going to head home. I want to listen to the CD." Lorelai said to Rory.

"Ok. See you later." And Lorelai left, walking quickly. She was curious to what was on the CD. She opened her door, and headed straight for the CD player. She put the shiny, colorful side on the bottom, closed the door thing, and pressed play. As the CD player started to read the CD, she opened up the paper. A sweet melody came out of the speakers, and Lorelai began to read.

A/N: everything in parenthesis are what Luke wrote next to the lyrics

She's Everything, Brad Paisley

She's a yellow pair of running shoes (I know you don't exercise, though)

A holey pair of jeans

She looks great in cheap sunglasses

She looks great in anything

She's I want a piece of chocolate (and more coffee)

Take me to a movie (a chick flick)

She's I can't find a thing to wear

Now and then she's moody (and throws forks at me)

… A/N: skip ahead in the song

She's everything I ever wanted

Everything I need

I talk about her I go on and on and on (and that annoys some people)

Yeah she's everything to me (Lorelai- you are everything)

Lorelai felt her eyes start to tear up as the song went on and then switched to another one

You Had Me From Hello, Kenny Chesney

One word

That's all you said (Ok, you said a lot more than one word)

Something in your voice caused me

To turn my head (and gave me whiplash, thank you very much)

Your smile

Just captured me

And you were in my future

Far as I could see (you came back every single day. Not that I mind.)

And I don't know how it happened

But it happened still

You ask me if I love you

If I always will (yes, I will)

Well you had me from hello

I felt love start to grow

The moment that I looked into your eyes

It was over from the start

You completely stole my heart (please don't give it back)

And now you won't let go (hopefully you never will)

I never even had a chance you know

You had me from hello

The song went on and Lorelai sank to the ground in tears. For the second time today, she was crying tears of joy. Tears of love.

She remembered when she first met Luke. How long ago was it? Eight years? Ten? More than that? She didn't know how long ago it was. She didn't remember the season. But she did remember that it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon and she had not had nay coffee. Her coffee maker had broken, so she went searching for a diner. When she saw Luke's, she almost passed it because of the William's Hardware sign. It struck her as odd that that was there.

But she drove by, looked in, saw coffee, and slammed on her brakes, nearly crashing into a parked car. Lorelai remembered getting out after parking, in a hurry, and in desperate need of caffeine. She pushed the door open and walked straight up to the counter.

"Ok, diner man, I need coffee. I need it big, I need it strong, and I need it now," she had said quickly, sitting down and putting he purse on the counter. Luke sighed.

"One coffee," he turned around and poured her a cup, then handed it to her.

"Wow, these mugs are huge. What'd you do, hijack a plastic company?" that was when Luke really looked at her, and Lorelai saw the stubble on his cheeks, the blueness in his eyes. And a backwards baseball cap.

"Gee. How'd you know?" he asked sarcastically. Lorelai hadn't realized it at the time, but he was flirting with her.

"Hey, are you the owner?"

"Yeah."

"Duke."

"It's Luke."

"Duke."

"Drink your coffee." Luke pointed to the mug. Lorelai took a good, long sip.

"Wow. That's the best coffee I've ever had." Lorelai continued to glug the rest of it, finishing in about 30 seconds. When she looked up, Luke was staring at her.

"That's disgusting," he had said.

"Excuse me, Mr. Duke the Diner Man, this is delicious, and I think I just beat my own personal record."

"That stuff's gonna kill you," and the next day, Lorelai went back. And the day after that. And the day after that. It became a ritual, one that she liked. And one that she now loved.

A/N: I really had fun writing this one. It took a little longer to update than I expected, but I'm glad to update now. I like this one, and was very surprised when I looked up and saw that it's 11 pages long!. I like how this story is going, but it might take a little bit of time until it's updated again. And to those of you that might live in another country that doesn't have Manwich or Sprint, Manwich is a sloppy joe like sandwich filling, and Sprint is a cell phone company.

I've been planning on doing the CD part for a while, before I came up with the idea for the story. It was just going to be a oneshot about the CD. But I really love that song, She's Everything, by Brad Paisley. If you get the chance, try listening for it on the radio (it's a country song) or looking p the lyrics. The first time I heard it, my ears went on radar, realizing that it sounded like something Luke would say to Lorelai. But the parts of the song thta remind me a lot of her wouldn't fit in to this story, they fit in with the show. I'll try to update soon, but I am very busy lately. Orchestra auditions tomorrow. Some ting at school tomorrow. I'm behind on homework. I have to get my schedule for next year filled out. And sleeping and eating would probably be helpful, too. I'll try by--- Thursday. Hopefully Thursday.

SPOILER ALERT SPOLIER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

I have received information from HSCharmed4Life that has proven me wrong. Episode 13 is not when Lorelai and Luke get back together, but when Lorelai realizes that Luke is the one for her. It will be one of Michel's dogs that dies. And, at the end of this season, Lorelai and Luke will not only be together, but married and expecting a baby.

You may have heard about there being bumped heads over a season 8 of our beloved Gilmore Girls. According to there is a rumor that Alexis Bledel (Rory) wants out. There has been discussion of continuing without her, but Lauren Graham (Lorelai) refuses to go on without Alexis. Noting is confirmed yet, but, apparently, the possibility of an 8th season is looking grim. Also on Lauren has apparently said that she would rather finish the show with people thinking that they could have gone on, than with people thinking that they overstayed their welcome. But they're always welcome in my book!

However, all great things must come to an end, even on television. Especially on television. But if things go the way they are supposed to, with Lorelai and Luke married and expecting, then there won't be anything else to add to their story. This is Rory's senior year al Yale, and then what? The show shows her as a journalist? Although I would find that entertaining (I am looking into the field of journalism myself), that's probably not the way David Rosenthal (the writer) would want it to go. But, hopefully, there will be an 8th season. It could show Lorelai and Luke finally together again, and happy, and married. It could show Rory becoming successful, and marrying someone. Hopefully Jess, although I doubt that that would happen.

P.S. I have just recently started my love for this show, so I missed a lot of stuff. One of them being that Alexis Bledel and Mio Ventimiglia (Jess) actually went out in real life. If they were going out in season 3, it would have been really convenient.

----------------------------------

To be continued…


	5. Starry Nights and Sunny Days

I don't own Gilmore Girls……

Starry Nights and Sunny Days

Summer was a beautiful time in Star's Hollow. The air was humid, but not overly so. The sky was a light, bouncy blue. The grass was green and thick, and grasshoppers leapt from blade to blade as though they were cheetahs on the hunt. Bees buzzed and birds chirped. And, especially this summer, there was a hint of love in the air for some certain Gilmore Girls.

It was still early summer, only 2 or 3 weeks since Luke and Lorelai's first kiss, and from Jess's return. The sun only had a little bit of that late summer intensity, and the days were not lazy, hazy, or crazy. They were light and carefree, but wonderfully warm. Rory was still asleep at noon one Friday; Lorelai had left for work at the Dragonfly Inn hours before. But Rory was snoozing peacefully, having strange dreams that somehow included newspaper articles piling up, and then falling on her, crushing her to death. A knock on the back door awoke her with a start.

"What?" she called angrily without opening her eyes or lifting her head.

"Rory?" a familiar voice called back to her. That woke Rory up. Her eyes flew open with a snap and her head was raised and she was walking out of her bedroom before her brain even computed the end of the sentence. The cool kitchen tile felt good beneath her toes, and she open the back door slowly, slightly afraid that she was right about the voice.

But, unfortunately, she was right. The door crept opened to reveal a man in his late thirties, and Rory didn't know whether or not to smile.

"Dad," she said finally. She should smile, she decided. She was happy to see him; after all, he was her dad. But her mom wouldn't be so happy.

"Hey, Rory. Did I wake you up?" he asked, sticking his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Uh, yeah. Kinda," Rory rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Come on in. I'll make coffee."

"Or we could go out. There's that little diner you and your mom like so much," Rory was now wide-awake.

"No. That's ok. I can make something."

"Can you cook?"

"Well, no, actually. We have microwave burritos."

"Come on. Get dressed and I'll take you out."

"But dad-."

"No buts, missy. It's no trouble," Rory really didn't want to admit to her dad that her mom and Luke were going out, and she really didn't want to go to the diner. But how was she supposed to get out of it? Rory tried to think of ways as she walked back to her room and put on a cotton skirt, ballet flats, and a button up white shirt.

"You're fast," Christopher said as Rory walked out of her room less than 2 minutes after she had gone in. They walked slowly to the diner, and Rory hoped that her mom wouldn't be making a lunchtime stop in there. As the two walked up to the door, Rory quickly scanned the window for any sight of her mom. Opening the door, she looked around- and saw her. So did Christopher. He walked right up to her, pulled her up by the hand, and kissed her on the cheek. Rory froze. Lorelai froze. And Luke, standing a few feet away, froze when he heard Rory mutter a soft no. He turned around to find Lorelai being kissed by another man. Much worse, it was Christopher.

Lorelai pulled herself away from Christopher. Had Luke just seen that? She looked past Chris. Oh, yes. He had. And he was mad.

"Chris. What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Just dropping by. Wanted to see you guys," he said with a wide, innocent smile.

"Christopher," Luke said simply, coming up behind him. Lorelai immediately jumped to Luke's side.

"Chris, you remember Luke."

"Oh, yeah. Hey." Lorelai suddenly felt the need to tell Chris about her and Luke.

"Luke, can we have some coffees, please?" she ran her fingers up and down his arm. Maybe that was a hint?

"Yeah. Sure," he said gruffly. Lorelai sat back down, and Chris sat on one side of her, Rory on the other. Lorelai sighed and looked at Rory for help.

"Rory, how's Yale?" he asked, turning to face Rory.

"Oh, it's good. Hard work, but I'm having fun," Rory scratched her elbow uncomfortably, and Lorelai looked over at Luke. He understood, didn't he? She and Chris were never going to go out again, she had no feelings for him. Well, she loved him, but not in that way. In a hey-we-used-to-date-and-I-thought-that-I-was-really-in-love-with-you-but-I'm-not-I-love-you-as-a-friend-and-that's-all-so-I-have-a-boyfriend-and-he's-great-and-I-love-him-more-than-I-ever-loved-you kind of way. Luke looked mad, and Lorelai figured that he had a right to be. After all, she'd gone running to Chris before. Maybe he thought that she would leave him for Chris?

"So, Lor, how are you doing?" Chris looked at Lorelai and she saw his eyes. There was that look. The look. The one he always gave her when they were 16, right before he was about to kiss her. Which he looked like he would really like to do. Oh, boy. He was doing that smile thing again. Where he smiles and kind of runs his tongue along his teeth. Yeah, he wanted to kiss her. Chris was married and had a kid and he still liked Lorelai. He was coming closer, but Lorelai jumped up.

"Chris, stop it!" she yelled, right there in the middle of the diner.

"Lor, me and Sherry- we're not doing so well. I want to divorce her. Then we can finally be a family. You, me, and Rory. What you've always wanted." Chris spoke slowly, and Lorelai knew that she had to tell him.

"Chris- no."

"Lor-,"

"No! Ok, for one thing, my name is Lorelai. Not Lor. And for another, I am with Luke. Luke and I are dating. Yes, dating! We're together and I'm finally happy! And you know what? I love him! I love him more than I ever felt anything towards you. You and me- we're over. We have been. You blew it, and I'm glad that you did. Because now I have Luke!" Lorelai finished her outburst, and silence fell over the diner. Miss Patty and Babette immediately jumped up, likely to spread the word. Lorelai looked for Luke, but she couldn't see him, because he was behind her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and looked over at Christopher.

"Christopher, I think you should leave," he said defiantly.

"No, I don't think I should. Because you're just a diner owner. You live above a greasy food joint. You wear flannel and a baseball cap. You're a loser."

"Hey!" Lorelai yelled back at him, "Stop it, Chris. This diner basically keeps me alive with caffeine and good food, and look at you. You're the loser, begging for a girl in front of a crowd of people, including her boyfriend," and Lorelai ran. She pushed the door to the diner open and ran down the road. She was never much of a runner, she mostly avoiding doing anything that included athletics. But all she saw was her feet slamming down on the gray, concrete sidewalk. Christopher was a good guy, he really was. But he always seemed to ruin things. She couldn't wait for him anymore. What she had with him- it was over. (quote from epi 7.12) Lorelai was happy with Luke. Sure, things were moving a little fast. They had only been together for a little while, and she had already told him that she loved him. But she was OK with that. She liked it.

Thoughts ran wild inside of Lorelai's head as she turned the corner onto her street. She was being a bit of a drama queen, and she knew that. She felt like she had reason to. She ran, not believing how far she had already ran, through her front door and into her house. Collapsing on the couch, Lorelai caught her breath. She seemed to have left it somewhere by the town square. It wouldn't be long, she knew, until the door burst open again, and there would be Rory, or Luke, or Chris, or any combination of those. She would forgive Christopher, like she always had. As long as he didn't pull anything about being together again. They would go to Friday night dinner, and he would charm her parents again. Her mother would make some remark about how they used to be so close, and Lorelai would once again be in drama queen mode. She could take Luke, yes, but she couldn't subject him to that kind of terror. Not yet, anyway. She didn't know where things with him were going. Would they get married? Break up? Could they ever be just friends again? Would they always be something more? Something less?

Lorelai sighed, and, right on cue, the door opened, revealing Rory.

"Mom?" Rory said quietly, poking her small face into the living room.

"Over here, honey."

"Mom," Rory repeated, sitting in a chair by the couch and looking at her mother, "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine. I think I overreacted, though."

"No, you didn't."

"Rory."

"OK, maybe just a little bit."

"What happened after I left?"

"You really don't want to know."

"That bad?"

"Well, dad started to follow you, but Luke grabbed his arm and told him not to. Dad said that you needed him and Luke told him that he really shouldn't go after you, and that the entire thing was his fault anyway, for pulling that crap on you."

"That all?"

"Um, no. Dad kind of pushed Luke back, and Luke grabbed dad again and told him that he was not to follow you, and that he would rather have him in his diner than off making things worse, even though he hated having him in his diner. Then dad said that Luke couldn't tell him what to do, but Luke said that he had every right to make sure that you weren't tormented. Then I told Luke that I was following you, that I was bringing dad with me, that I would make sure he didn't do anything, and that he was welcome to come with us."

"Did he?"

"No. But dad's right outside. Should I tell him to go home?"

"No, let him in. It's fine."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Lorelai said, and Rory turned around and walked outside she returned a few moments later with Christopher next to her.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, looking at the floor.

"It's fine. I kind of over reacted."

"No, I shouldn't have tried anything."

"No, you shouldn't have. But it's OK. Just don't so it again."

"I promise."

"Now, I have to go to the diner, then back to work," Lorelai got up slowly, kissed Rory on the top of her head, nodded at Chris, and left. This time, she chose to walk to the diner. After all, her car was there, and running was definitely not an option. It wasn't a very long walk, and Lorelai tried not to think about anything. She watched grasshoppers leaping after who knows what, and ants crawling around. A bee buzzed in her ear, and she swatted at it. Lorelai walked quickly, but wasn't running. She didn't think she could ever run like that again.

Luke was refilling the coffee machine when the bell above his diner door rang. He didn't pay any attention to it, and kept on adding ground beans to the machine. He was about to slip in his special ingredient that made it so good when some one came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Luke, I am so sorry about him," Lorelai said.

"No, it's, it's fine."

"No, it's not. And I've made it very clear to him that it's not. But Luke- he's Chris. I can't shut him out."

"I wouldn't ask you too."

"Good, because, he's Rory's father, you know? And he's my friend. But nothing more than that. I promise." Lorelai's eyes got wide, begging Luke to understand.

"I know."

"Thank you," She leaned in closer to him; "I guess everybody kinda knows about us now, then, huh?"

"Uh, yeah. Apparently," Luke said after looking around. They were being stared at out of the corners of people's eyes.

"That's good. I'm glad the do, because now I can kiss you in public," Lorelai smiled, and placed her hands on his shoulder, giving Luke a quick kiss. "See you later. Bye!"

"Bye," Luke watched as Lorelai left the diner, a considerable spring in her step. He looked around again at the customers, who were all smirking in a very "finally!" way. Yeah, he thought. Finally. He was with Lorelai. Hopefully.

About 6 hours later, Chris, Lorelai, and Rory stood outside of the Gilmore estate.

"I swear this place grows bigger every week," Lorelai stated, "Pretty soon they're gonna need a moat."

"Well, it'll have to be a pretty big moat, because Emily's not going to raft out of here. She'll need a yacht," Chris smirked.

"Yeah, and at this rate, it's going to be a big enough moat to eat Hartford. The Hatrford-ians are just going to wake up one day and say 'Wow, we're in a giant pool of water. Marvin, did you drink a lot before bed?' and then there's going to be Emily Gilmore, chugging along in a huge ocean liner," Lorelai ranted.

"Do ocean liners chug?" Rory asked, reaching for the doorbell.

"No!" Lorelai all but yelled, grabbing her daughter's arm.

"No, ocean liners don't chug, or no, don't ring the bell?" Rory asked.

"Well, both, but right now, just don't ring the bell."

"Ah, come on, it's not that bad," Chris said.

"Oh, but it will be," Lorelai mutter under her breath. But she let go of Rory's arm, and the bell was rung. A maid –new, of course- answered.

"Hello," she said nervously, "Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore are in the living room," she made a gesture to the room beyond the entryway.

"Thanks," Lorelai began, "The door is that way. Run and I'll keep them busy!" she whispered. The maid looked very confused.

"Ignore her," Rory said before they all entered the living room. The maid blinked profusely and left for the kitchen, which was the source of an unpleasant smell. Emily Gilmore rushed past Lorelai, Rory, and Christopher (who stopped to watch), following the maid.

"Bertha? Bertha what have you done to that wonderful roast?" she called. There was the sound of the maid, Bertha, muttering something.

"No, you can't cook slices of roast in the toaster!" Emily sounded furious. The maid said something else. "Well, I most certainly do not think toasted roast sounds cute!" she returned, looking very unhappy.

"Well, I don't know what we're going to eat now," she pushed Lorelai, Rory, and Christopher into the living room. "Richard is on a business call. And it's very nice to see you, Christopher."

"Nice to see too, Emily."

"How are Sherry and Georgia?"

"Very well."

"Oh, that's wonderful." They all sat down, and were joined by Richard.

"Christopher my boy! Great to see you."

"And you as well, Richard."

"Drinks, anyone?" Richard asked from in the corner, already pouring himself a scotch.

"Upside down tequila slammer with a twist!" Lorelai called (sorry, but I loved when Rory told Marty that she wanted that at Lucy's birthday party!)

"What?" Richard asked.

"A margarita, dad."

"Christopher?"

"A scotch sounds great."

"And Rory? Coke?"

"Yes, please, Grandpa." Richard handed everyone their drinks and sat down on the couch opposite the younger Gilmores and Chris, next to his wife.

"Well, when's dinner?" he asked.

"Apparently, never," Emily sighed. "Bertha thought that it might be cute to 'toast the roast'." Richard began to laugh.

"What? What? That's not funny Richard." Emily glared.

"Sorry. Where shall we go to eat, then?" he looked at everyone. "Lorelai, how about that charming diner you and Rory go to so often?" Lorelai, who had been in mid-sip, suddenly coughed and spit out the bit of drink that had been in her mouth.

"Lorelai!" Emily was appalled.

"Yeah, um, Luke's? Nah, he's closed," she quickly lied. "Don't you have any food here?"

"I don't know," Emily said, "It's up to the maids to cook." Lorelai stood up, disappeared in her father's study, and returned with a phone book. She whipped out her cell phone.

"Yes, hello, Pizza Hut?" she said cheerily into her phone. The appalled look on Emily's face was back. "We'd like 3 large pizzas, 1 pepperoni, 1 extra cheese, and 1 vegetable, delivered," She gave them her parent's address and hung up. "10 minutes," she said to everyone.

"Wow! They always tell us 30 when we don't order from Al's!" Rory gasped.

"Yes, but that is the advantage of living in the rich area of town. You get pizza fast and telemarketers are nicer."

"Lorelai, did you just order pizza?" Emily asked.

"Yes mom. You see, pizza is food. Which we need." Emily opened her mouth to argue, but Richard interrupted.

"I think pizza is a wonderful idea," he said with a smile. Lorelai sat back down next to Rory.

"Tell them," Rory whispered to her mom.

"Tell them what?" Lorelai whispered back.

"About Luke."

"Why?"

"They'll find out anyway!"

"No."

"Yes."

"Rory, stop it."

"Lorelai, Rory, is there something that you would like to say?" Emily interjected.

"Yes, grandma, I was just talking to mom about how happy I am. I just recently got back together with Jess. You might not remember him, he's the one who-,"

"The one who showed up to dinner with a black eye and ran away form you, oh yes, I remember him. Was he in a fight that night or something? He seemed like a hooligan." Rory suddenly burst out in laughter. She bent her head down and shook, laughing too hard to make a noise except for gasping for air.

"What?" Christopher asked, "Rory, honey, breathe!" Rory looked up, her face bright red and streaming with tears of laughter.

"Nnooo," she got out. She breathed deeply to clam down, and began again. "He was actually attacked by a goose," She said before giggling again. There was a unanimous 'what?' from everyone else in the room.

"Apparently, it beaked him. But he's really better now, grandma. He's writing a book. He actually, uh, lent me a chapter," she cast an embarrassed glance at her mom, who gave her the same look.

"Well that's wonderful, Rory. Lorelai? Any men in your life?" Emily looked disapprovingly at Lorelai. Christopher excused himself for the 'bathroom' and Lorelai shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Rory looked satisfied.

"Um, actually mom, yes."

"Oh, really?"

"Who?"

"Luke, mom." Lorelai sighed.

"Luke?" Emily raised her eyebrows.

"Yes. He owns the diner."

"Well, you should invite him to diner next week! And Rory, invite that Jess. I haven't had the chance to meet him yet." Richard said.

"Lorelai, I'd like to speak with you in the dining room." Emily said, but the doorbell interrupted her.

"Pizza!" Rory and Lorelai yelled, racing for the door. Emily rolled her eyes, and Christopher returned from the 'bathroom'.

The rest of the night went by well enough. There was no bloodshed. Emily kept casting Lorelai looks, but Lorelai promptly ignored her.

"So, see you next week!" Lorelai said as they were leaving. "And you'll see Luke and Jess, too." She then ran out, jumping into her car. Chris sat in the front passenger seat, and Rory in the back.

"So, dad, how long are you here?" Rory asked, putting on her seatbelt.

"I was actually planning on leaving tonight. Just dropping in," he said. And when they got home, he got in his car and left. Just left.

"Wow, that was weird," Rory said as she and her mom watched him leave. "What was all that about?"

"He wanted another chance with me," Lorelai put her hand on Rory's shoulder. "But he didn't get one."

A/N: Ok, I don't really like this chapter. I wanted to add in a dinner and Chris, and was planning on getting this out last week. But my computer went crazy last Tuesday, the little light that shows when it's on blinked on and off really fast constantly, and my dad replaced this big power thing in it, which seemed to fix it. Then I just got lazy. The next chapter will probably be about dinner with Rory, Jess, Luke, Lorelai, Emily, and Richard. Maybe Jess leaving for Philadelphia and some Luke/Lorelai……

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

Ok, the previews for next week are soooo good! Lorelai saying "You're the man that I want to want" to Chris, and then (I don't remember if this was in the previews but I saw it online) Lorelai saying to Chris "If it was just feelings (for Luke, I guess) then it would be fine." So I guess she still loves him!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to see this convo with them. Also, I hear that the chance of Luke and Lorelai being married and expecting a baby at the end of this season aren't as sure as they were a week ago. Guess we'll have to see. To get an "I Support Season 8" picture to show your support for the renewal of Gilmore Girls for an 8th season, go

to be continued


	6. Good Morning, Beautiful

Good Morning Beautiful

Disclaimer: What does disclaimer mean anyway? Warning or something? I have no idea what it means, but a lot of people's stories say "Disclaimer: I don't own this… etc." Anyway, I don't own Gilmore Girls, or it would have gone like this. And if anyone knows what disclaimer means, please leave it in a comment. I feel stupid. Lol

Lorelai and Rory opened the door to Luke's Diner the day after dinner with the Gilmores and Chris, feeling generally happy and enjoying the warm summer air. Luke was behind the counter, training a new girl. A man went up to her to order a coffee, and Luke backed away to talk to Cesar and give the new girl a shot on her own. She was smiling and gave the man a coffee, and he looked particularly happy, almost laughing. Lorelai walked up.

"Hi, I'm Lorelai, I practically live here. Are you new?" she asked nicely.

"Uh, yeah. My name's Diane," the new girl said, giving a flip of her stick straight red hair. Lorelai got up and went behind the counter.

"I don't think you can come back here," Diane began. Lorelai started to open the cash register. "Or do that."

"Yeah, Diane, I think you need some more training." Lorelai said.

"Why?" Diane asked. Lorelai pulled the bill the man in front of her had paid with out of the register.

"Because that guy just paid with a 4 dollar bill," Lorelai showed Diane the piece of "money" he had paid with. It was green construction paper that had been washed several times so that it was a light green, and flimsy. There was a picture of Tom Cruise in the center, with little 4's all over, written in ballpoint pen.

"Ah, man," Diane sighed, smacking her gum. Luke came out of the kitchen.

"Lorelai, hey," he said, "What are you doing?" Lorelai handed him the 4-dollar bill and went to sit down at the table that Rory had been watching from. Luke gave her a quite bewildered look until he glanced down at the bill.

"What's this?" he called after Lorelai. But she pointed at Diane. "What's this?" he asked Diane, who took it, put it back in the cash register, and went to go take orders. Luke rolled his eyes and went to go ask Lorelai and Rory what they wanted for breakfast.

"What do you want?" he asked, pen ready at his notepad.

"I see what Rory wants…" Lorelai gestured to Jess, who was coming down the stairs. Rory giggled.

"So do I," Rory said before running over to Jess. They met with a kiss (Luke pointedly looked away) and went upstairs.

"Didn't he just come down? I could use help, Jess!" Luke spoke to Lorelai, then to Jess's retreating back. But neither answered. "What are they doing?" Luke asked Lorelai.

"I don't want to know," Lorelai raised her eyebrows.

"So, how was Friday Night Dinner?" Luke sat down in the chair next to Lorelai that Rory had been sitting in.

"Well, interesting, I guess," Lorelai said, leaning in closer to Luke. He kissed the tip of her nose, and Lorelai kissed him smack on the lips.

"What happened?" Luke asked, kissing Lorelai back.

"We ate pizza," they continued kissing, "And you're invited to next week's dinner."

Luke pulled away quickly, nearly toppling out of his chair.

"What?!"

"Yeah, sorry. Blame Rory. She accidentally got you and Jess invited. You don't have to come if you don't want to-"

"No, no, I'll go. I've never met your parents."

"Lucky you," Lorelai whispered under he breath.

"Lorelai," Luke took Lorelai's hand, "I will meet your parents. I will eat dinner with them. Because they're your parents. And I love you. Which means that I should get used to your family." Luke leaned over and kissed Lorelai. They both forgot, momentarily, where they were. They were to the point of Lorelai standing up, with Luke's arms firmly around her waist, bringing them closer, when Luke opened his eyes to see the entire diner staring at him. He pulled away quickly, scratching the back of his head as a nervous reaction. Lorelai gave a small giggle.

"Yeah, so, um, chocolate chip pancakes, extra chocolate," Lorelai sat down and told Luke.

"Coffee?" he asked, thankful that most of the people had gone back to their breakfast food.

"Are you seriously asking me that?"

"No, I'm walking away, not asking you anything," Luke said, walking away, but not turning around. He was still facing Lorelai.

"Turn around!" she called after him as he nearly ran into the counter. He turned and Lorelai whisper-yelled, "Nice ass!" after him. The stares returned, and Luke's face went red. Lorelai wished that she had some reading material or something to stuff her face into while the people stopped looking at her and Luke.

Rory followed Jess up the stairs to Luke's apartment.

"It's weird," Rory said as Jess sat in a chair. She sat on the arm of the same one.

"What's weird?" Jess pulled Rory off of the arm and into his lap.

"My mom and Luke. Us, again. But I'm happy," Rory kissed his chin.

"You missed," he said, playing with her hair.

"What?"

"You missed," and Jess kissed Rory's lips. (That's from some movie, I think it's Elf. I just really liked that part!) They wrapped their arms around each other, Jess tilting his chin down, and Rory tilting hers up, as they sat there in the chair. Rory gently opened her mouth, and they kissed harder. Jess picked Rory up, and she clung to his neck. He dropped her, gently on his bed…

Downstairs, Luke handed Lorelai her 3rd plate of pancakes and then sat down next to her.

"What do you think they're doing up there?" he asked under his breath, meaning Jess and Rory.

"Like I said, I don't want to know," Lorelai responded, taking a bite of her pancakes.

"Yeah, but what if we need to know?" Luke asked. Lorelai stopped chewing and froze.

"They wouldn't."

"I think we should check," Luke was already up. Lorelai swallowed her bite of pancakes and followed after him. She caught up and took his hand in her own, enjoying the feeling of his fingers brushing against her wrist. They walked, hand in hand, up to the apartment door, and paused, ears to the glass.

"I can't hear anything," Lorelai whispered.

"Is that a good thing?"

"I don't know." Luke knocked gently on the door.

"Just a minute!" Rory's voice rang out, sounding frantic. It was a full minute before she opened the door with a fake smile. "Hi, mom. Luke," she said. Lorelai and Luke walked in past her and looked around.

"Hey, Rory, Jess. What's up?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Just hanging out," Jess scratched his head, having the same nervous habit as his uncle.

"Uh huh, just hanging out?" she asked, "With Rory's pants unzipped? And Jess's shirt on backwards?" Everyone blushed, but Lorelai and Luke just looked mad. "Hey, Rory? Let's go home. Bye, Jess. Bye, Luke," Lorelai ran from the room, giving Luke a quick kiss and not even looking at Jess.

"Mom! Mom!" Rory yelled before following her mom, not stopping to say goodbye to either men. Lorelai was waiting for her downstairs. Rory came running, and Lorelai grabbed her arm. She pulled her to the car, not saying anything. But when they got in, it was obvious that Lorelai was trying very hard to mask her anger.

"Rory, what were you doing?" she asked slowly.

"Mom, we-"

"Did anything happen," it was not a question, more of a statement.

"Mom-"

"Rory, did anything happen?" Lorelai yelled, now crying. Rory looked at the dashboard.

"Yes," she said quietly.

"Oh God. I really wish that you hadn't done that."

"Hypocrite," Rory whispered.

"What was that?"

"I said hypocrite! A week ago Jess and I walked in on you and Luke all hot and heavy, and you're mad at me?! I hate you for ruining this for me!" Rory yelled, now also crying.

"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, I am an adult! You are 19 years old and I don't want to walk into a room and find you with your new old boyfriend that left without a goodbye not a year ago!" Lorelai was mad and sad. Her daughter…

"You had me when you were 16, Lorelai Victoria Gilmore!" Rory spat at her mother. Lorelai took several deep, unsteady breaths.

"You have no idea how much I wanted you to wait," she began, brushing tears off of her cheeks, "And wait until you were with someone that wouldn't hurt you. And I also didn't want to find out like this."

"I'm sorry," Rory cried, bringing her knees to her chin and wrapping her arms around them, burying her face in her right arm, looking away from her mother. They rode home in silence, but they attacked each other with hugs the moment that they got out of the car, crying and apologizing. They both collapsed on the couch.

"Do you love him?" Lorelai asked finally.

"Yes," Rory's eyes took on a sparkle, "I really do. I love the way his hair sticks up. I love the way he's so laidback. I love how he looks at me. I love how it feels to just sit there in his arms. I love how he walks, how he talks, how he does anything and everything-"

"Dirty," Lorelai giggled under her breath. Rory ignored her.

"And I love how he loves me," Rory finished, "And you can leave the 'dirty' out from after that one." They sat in silence for a while before Lorelai spoke.

"I told Luke that I love him," she said, suddenly realizing that she hadn't told anyone about that yet. "You remember that he took me out a few days ago? We went to the Empire State Building. And I told him. And he said it back," Lorelai hid her goofy, childish smile with a pillow.

"Wow. That was…fast," Rory said.

"Yeah, I know, but I think I always have, you know? And I really do love him. It's like what you said about Jess. I love everything about him. That baseball cap. Holding his hand. Getting lost in his eyes. Just talking to him. And yes, I love the way he loves me."

"Have you-" Rory made weird gestures in the air.

"What?"

"The other day when Jess and I walked in on you two… what they could have turned into," Rory blushed a deep crimson.

"No. Not yet," Lorelai looked at the fibers of the couch, "Is that weird?"

"I don't think so."

"Yeah, me either."

"Hey, I have an idea."

"Yeah?"

"Let's have a movie night!" Rory exclaimed loudly, smiling widely, "We can invite Luke and Jess. It'll be fun!" she leaned on the arm of the couch, and memories of what had happened entered her mind. Rory gave a giddy smile, remembering the feeling of Jess's warm fingertips on her bare skin. Lorelai ignored the fact that her daughter was smiling like a maniac and thought about the movie night idea. It sounded pretty good to her. She could see right there on that very couch, with Luke's strong arms wrapped around her. She could sink into his touch and they could kiss and sit and maybe do something more. Now Lorelai was smiling like a maniac.

"I like that idea. Let's go ask them!" Lorelai leapt up, grabbing Rory's arm, and ran out to the jeep. The air inside was still pleasantly cool from having the air conditioner on 5 minutes before. They drove in silence again, each lost in their own thoughts. Rory opened her window and held her hand out, humming a country song.

"Hand out the window in the wind. Cars go by, it's all we've been givin', so we better start livin' right now, as days go by!" she sang at the top of her lungs.

"Wow, Rory, sweet daughter of mine that is basically a mini-me, don't ever sing again," Lorelai held her right hand out and clapped Rory's shoulder.

"You're just jealous," Rory joked back.

"Yes, I'm very jealous of you, except that I would never go back to my own 19 year-old-self, because, at that time, I had a 3 year-old, and was not attending a snooty Ivy League college." They pulled up to Luke's and walked in, arms linked. Both boys were standing behind the counter, refusing to talk about what had gone on upstairs.

"Oh, look, Rory. Two handsome men standing behind a diner counter. Let's invite them to our house tonight," Lorelai leaned on the counter, and Luke leaned on the other side, kissing her forehead.

"I'm sure they don't have girlfriends," Rory smiled at Jess.

"Yeah, and if they do, we can take them!" Lorelai stared into Luke's eyes for a minute, interrupted by Rory sitting down on a stool next to the one she was standing by. Lorelai followed suit, and they both rested their elbows on the counter. Rory yawned and stretched her arms farther out, taking Jess's hand. He stroked her wrist with his thumb.

"So, do you two want to come over for a movie night tonight?" Lorelai asked.

"Lorelai, the last time I came to a movie night at your house, you bombarded me with rules about not moving," Luke raised his eyebrows, but Lorelai had stopped listening when he said her name. _Lorelai_. She loved how he said it, slowly, as though he was tasting the word. Mmmm… Rory suddenly burst out laughing.

"That was that night that I was on that terrible date with that one guy!" she giggled, "I don't even remember his name!"

"A date huh? I don't want to know," Jess said.

"It was my first date after you, Jess. And I hated it. We never saw each other again."

"The draft," Luke said.

"Oh yeah! I was talking to mom on the phone-"

"Against the rules," Luke raised his eyebrows again.

"And Luke told me to tell him that there was a draft so that I could move to the other side of the table," Rory kept giggling. Lorelai wasn't saying anything; she was too busy looking at a menu.

"What's with you and the menus lately?" Luke asked, tipping the menu away from her.

"You serve veggie burgers?" Lorelai asked, astonished.

"Yes."

"Have you always served veggie burgers?"

"Yes."

"But I have this entire thing committed to memory!" Lorelai protested.

"Well then I don't know why you didn't know."

"Ah!" Lorelai raised her index finger in realization, "Rory, don't they say that you shut bad things out of your mind?"

"Yes," Rory responded.

"Then that explains it."

"Ok, so what kind of movies do you guys like?" Rory asked.

"I like everything except chick flicks," Luke grumbled.

"Me, too," Jess piped up.

"Well that completely ruins our list," Lorelai grunted. "Rory, any ideas?"

"Casablanca!" she yelled, throwing her hands up in the air as if she had just scored a hockey goal. She had not, however, ever played hockey. It was too much physical work.

"No, I saw that last time," said Luke, pouring Lorelai and Rory each a cup of coffee.

"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory! The old one, though. The squirrels on the new one scare me," Lorelai offered, taking a long sip of coffee.

"Mom, no!" Rory punched her mother's arm, causing Lorelai to nearly spill her coffee.

"Rory, why? Do you like the evil squirrels? Because if you do, they might attack you-"

"That was the movie we saw with Dean!" Rory grumbled under her breath. She then had a brilliant idea, at the same time as Lorelai.

"Pippi Longstocking!" They both yelled. Several people turned to stare.

"Wow, we get a lot of looks in this place," Lorelai said.

"Must be because we're so gorgeous!" Rory giggled. Jess and Luke exchanged glances.

"What's Pippi Longstocking about?" Luke asked.

"You've never seen it?!" Lorelai gasped.

"I haven't either," chimed in Jess.

"They're Pippi virgins," Lorelai said to Rory.

"I didn't think there were any left."

"Ok, come over at 7, bring food, bring good attitudes, and Luke- bring along that sexy look!" Lorelai said, adding in the comment to Luke as she noticed him rolling his eyes. The Gilmore Girls then left, taking their coffee mugs with them.

"Hey! Lorelai, Rory, the mugs!" Luke yelled after them. But they chose to ignore him, and continued walking out the door.

Six-thirty was coming us quickly, and Rory still hadn't run to the video store to pick up Pippi.

"Rory, go get the movie!" Lorelai called from her bathroom, with a hair band in her mouth, while she struggled to put her hair up in a bun. She finally gave up, flung the band across the room (it hit the window with a small noise) and brushed her hair to keep it down. Waves fell over her shoulders, and Lorelai studied herself in the mirror. She was wearing light-wash jeans, with a simple black tank top. Her feet were bare, but she pushed them into a pair of slippers that were like flip-flops. They were useless for winter, because they were only flip-flops, but ideal for summer, when she didn't want to go around barefoot. But she mostly wore them because she loved the way they squished under her feet.

"I'm going!" Rory yelled, shoving her feet into an old pair of Birkenstocks. She looked very Rory-like, with Bermuda shorts that reached her knees, and a pink shirt that said Yale in silver. She, unlike her mother, had managed to pull her hair into a high ponytail, which went along perfectly with her outfit. She looked very- summery. Rory smiled to herself as she walked towards the bookstore, thinking about everything that had happened lately. She was back with Jess, which felt both weird and right. Today she had- they had- expressed their love for each other. Rory remembered the day that she graduated form Chilton. Jess had left without a goodbye, and he kept calling her. She had told him, hurriedly, that he was wrong, that she couldn't be with him anymore, and that she thought she might have loved him. But now, she knew that she loved him.

Rory felt as though her feet were no longer on the ground, she was floating to the video store. She hovered, inches above the ugly carpet, as she paid Kirk for Pippi Longstocking (she also picked up the Grudge). And then soared home. When she got there, she returned to Earth, and threw the video down on the couch.

"Mom, I'm back!" she announced herself, slipping out of her shoes. Lorelai was in the kitchen, looking for her silver bracelet.

"Rory, do you know where my silver bracelet went?" she asked. Rory went into the kitchen and showed Lorelai her wrist, where the silver bracelet lay peacefully.

"It's not yours, it's mine. And I'm wearing it tonight, it matches my shirt," Lorelai opened her mouth to argue, but was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

"Coming!" she yelled, walking away from Rory and opening the front door.

"We brought food," Luke said, bypassing a normal 'hello' and walking in.

"You know, we brought enough food to feed a third world country," Jess grumbled.

"Well then you didn't bring enough. Hey, why do they call it a third world country, anyway? What about a second world? A first? A 0th? A negative first, a-" Lorelai said very fast, but Luke took her arm and kissed her, shutting her up. "Well if you want me to shut up, just say so."

"Jess! Food! Hi, Luke," Rory said as she walked into the crowded entryway, hugging Jess and eyeing the food in Luke's hand.

"We better get into the living room, this many people in this entryway is a fire hazard," Lorelai joked. They all filed into the living room, and Luke set the food down on the coffee table. He then sat on the couch, and Lorelai sat next to him. Rory picked up the 2 videos.

"Pippi, or the Grudge?" she asked, holding up the boxes.

"Rory, you got the Grudge?" Lorelai asked, faking astonishment.

"I don't really think that the guys were up for a girl with red hair that sticks out of her head."

"Let's watch the Grudge," Jess said. "I like that movie."

"People actually like that movie?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes. Obviously, since I just said that I do," Jess shot back at her.

"I've never seen it," Luke butted in.

"Rory, put it in. But you, mister, are not off the hook. You're going to have to see Pippi sometime," Lorelai poked Luke's rib.

"I can hardly wait," Luke said sarcastically. Rory pushed the DVD in, and then sat on the floor next to the couch. Jess joined her. Jess watched the movie intently, but he was the only one. Rory nodded off, her head on his shoulder. He stroked her sleeping head, feeling his own eyelids droop.

Up on the couch, Lorelai and Luke were still watching, halfheartedly. Luke was sitting up straight, but Lorelai was curled up, her head half on his shoulder, and half on his chest. Her hand was resting on his knee. The movie was at the part where the girl heard a lot of thumping.

"That's a lot of thumping," Luke said under his breath.

"Hehe. Dirty," Lorelai pointed out. Luke laughed and put his hand on her shoulder. Lorelai felt the heat of his palm, glad that she wore a tank top, so that she could feel his hand. Luke kissed the top of her head, and Lorelai melted. She lifted her head slightly, to look at Rory and Jess. They had fallen asleep, arms around each other. Thoughts whirred through Lorelai's head, which she lifted higher to kiss Luke's cheek. He put both arms around her, kissing her mouth. They continued for a minute or so, until Luke picked Lorelai up off of him, and set her down, feet on the ground, next to the couch. They walked, stepping over the kids, to the stairs, and into Lorelai's bedroom…

Rory woke up first. She was groggy, and she opened her eyes, at first not realizing where she was, and who was holding her. Then she smiled, looking up at Jess. They were lying on the floor, and when she looked up to the couch to see if her mom and Luke were still there. They weren't. Rory smiled again, and kissed Jess's cheek. He didn't wake up, and she snuggled her face back into his arm and fell back asleep.

Upstairs, Lorelai woke up when the sun streamed in through her window. Luke was beside her, and she remembered. They had gone upstairs, laid down; she had knocked his baseball cap off, and they had gone all the way. She grinned hugely, rubbing Luke's bare chest. He woke up, and looked at her.

"Good morning, beautiful, how was your night?" he whispered, quoting Gary Allen's "Good Morning Beautiful".

"Mine was wonderful with you by my side," Lorelai went along with the song.

"When I open my eyes, and see your sweet face, it's a good morning beautiful day."

"We're very musical," Lorelai said, kissing Luke's forehead, and he wrapped his strong arms wrapped tighter around her. "I love you." She said.

"And I love you," Luke kissed her cheek. They lay there for a while talking, holding each other, and they both knew that this was the kind of love that lasted forever. _It's us, finally_, Luke thought, rubbing Lorelai's hair between his fingers.

Author's Note

I am so sorry for taking so long to write this. I have had trouble being inspired, but then it snowed Monday night, and it got me into a total writing mood. I have lived in the southeast for most of my life, and recently moved north. I've seen snow before, but I don't even remember it, it was so long ago. It's snowed an inch or so every two weeks here for a while, but it snowed 3 inches on Tuesday. That may not seem like much to you, but I was so amazed. It's so… perfect. Untouched beauty. And that sent me into writing a lot, but mostly writing about snow, and not this story. Then I remembered this story, and went to work. I have no idea how long to make this one, but I'm certainly not done yet. I have many plans, (insert evil grin here). I have an idea to end each story with a quote from an episode after the author's note:

This is from the very first episode, and I still love it:

Lorelai walks into Luke's diner:

Luke: How many cups have you have today?

Lorelai: None

Luke: Plus...

Lorelai: 5, but yours is better

Luke: You have a problem

Lorelai: Yes, I do

Luke: Junkie

Lorelai: Angel. You've got wings, baby.

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

I was on a Gilmore Girls message board the other day, and heard something that made my jaw drop. Ok, maybe that's a little overdramatic, but I was really shocked. Someone said that they heard that Luke and Lorelai weren't going to apologize until episode 18. The episode next week is the 15th, and there will be 22 episodes in this season. Now, this hasn't been confirmed, I haven't found it anywhere, but it was just something that got me thinking. That's waiting a while to get them talking, isn't it? How long will it take to get them back together? That episode? The 22nd? And what about season 8? But the writer –David Rosenthal- likes Luke Lorelai together. If this were the last season, wouldn't he want them firmly together to end the series? So, if the episode 18 thing is true, would that meant that there's a season 8 in the works? I'm confused!

TO BE CONTINUED


	7. Ranch Dressing, Barbie, and Nacho Cheese

Ranch Dressing, Barbie, and Nacho Cheese

Rory and Jess woke up when the garbage truck went by. It was not a peaceful way to awaken, but it was a very cliché way. They also awoke to find a white fleece blanket draped over them. It had been Lorelai's doing, when she decided that she and Luke should get out of bed, and went downstairs, wearing sweatpants and the first sweatshirt she found. It said Harvard, but she decided to keep it on just to annoy Rory. Lorelai and Luke were now sitting in the kitchen, eating pancakes that Luke had cooked and drinking coffee. Well, Lorelai was drinking coffee. Luke was drinking water, after being appalled at the lack of milk and orange juice in the house.

Rory and Jess, after their hearts stopped beating wildly from their rude awakening, smiled at each other, and stood up. Jess slipped his arm around Rory's waist, and they walked into the kitchen.

"Morning," Rory greeted her mom and Luke, stealing the pancake Lorelai had just finished buttering and put it in her mouth.

"Mean," Lorelai pouted as she got up to get another pancake from the pile by the stove.

"What does your sweatshirt say?" Rory asked, sitting in a chair next to her mother. Jess sat on her other side, and Luke was on Lorelai's other side. Luke got up after Lorelai, putting his hand on the small of her back. She giggled and picked up another pancake, and Luke started making waffles. Rory watched, eating the pancake she stole from her mother, and was happy for her. After an hour, the boys left, Lorelai and Rory promised to come by the diner later, and they sat back on the couch.

"Hey, mom?" Rory asked, crossing her legs.

"Yeah?"

"You look happy."

"I am, kid," Lorelai gave Rory a genuine smile, her teeth glittering. (A/N: One of my favorite things they say!)

"So, where were you and Luke last night?" Rory taunted.

"Upstairs," Lorelai responded with a large beam.

"So you…"

"I don't see how it concerns you, but yes," Lorelai said, looking at the discarded blanket on the floor. "Boy, you've had a lot of firsts lately."

"What?"

"Yesterday, especially."

"What?"

"Well, you're dating a boyfriend again, there's a first, you had sex, another first, and you woke up with a guy, another first. Wow, that's 3 firsts. A lot."

"I guess you're right," Rory said, twisting her hair around her finger. "I didn't really think about it." The doorbell suddenly ringed, and they jumped up, expecting it to be either Luke or Jess. But when they opened the door, smiling flirtatiously, with Lorelai's arm resting on Rory's shoulder, it wasn't Luke or Jess. It was Dean. What was going on? Lorelai got a boyfriend, and Chris showed up. Rory got a boyfriend, and Dean showed up.

"Dean, hi," Rory said, confused.

"Rory, Lorelai," Dean smiled.

"Um, come in," Lorelai welcomed him.

"So what's up?" Rory asked as they sat down on the couch. Lorelai excused herself, saying that she heard a suspicious noise upstairs and it might be a murderer, so she should probably go check.

"Not much, just wanted to see you," Dean folded his hands together.

"Well, I'm right here. Always right here. Unless if I'm at Yale. School! You need to go back to school, Dean."

"Rory, calm down! You're more nervous than you were last time I saw you at the Dragonfly." (A/N: let's assume that they had their first conversation but didn't almost kiss and didn't do anything but talk)

"Well…."

"What's up?"

"It's just weird."

"What is?"

"I don't know, talking to you, I guess. I mean, I want to talk to you, because I'd like to be friends again, but-" Rory could have gone on but Dean chuckled.

"It's ok. It is kind of weird," he said, swinging his head to get his hair out of his face. Rory remembered a time when that would have driven her crazy, and she would have told him that he looked so cute when he did that and they would end up talking about cute things they did for half an hour. But not anymore. That time was long past.

"I'm back together with Jess!" Rory suddenly blurted out loudly. There was a thud and an "Ow!" on the stairs- Lorelai had been crouching up there listening. Both kids ignored her. Dean was silent.

"Oh, geez, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just blurt it out," Rory said apologetically.

"It's ok. I'm married, aren't I?"

"Yes. Yes you are. But you said that you weren't doing so well."

"Well, we're doing just fine, Rory. I don't need your sympathy."

"Sorry," Rory looked at the floor.

"I have to get back to work. There's a wall in the barn that didn't get painted completely yet," Dean stood up to go.

"Dean, can you make sure there's a fresh pot of coffee in the large dining room, please?" Lorelai piped up.

"Sure, Lorelai," Dean chuckled again, "Bye." He started to leave, but Rory stopped him with a hug.

"I really hope things with you and Lindsay are going good. I want you t be happy," she said. Dean nodded, patted her arm, and left.

"Wow. That was weird," Lorelai said, coming down the stairs.

"Yeah. It was."

"Did you talk to him at the inn?"

"Yeah, that day you opened. We just talked, and he told me that he was leaving school and that he and Lindsay weren't doing very well."

"Let's not tell Jess that he was here."

"Good idea," Rory said, tucking her hair behind her ear uncomfortably, "In fact, it's about lunch time. Let's go get Luke's."

"Dirty."

"You know what I mean," Rory rolled her eyes.

**The Next Friday**

Lorelai and Rory were finishing getting ready for dinner, looking for Lorelai's missing black slingback.

"Mom, if you actually put your shoes in the closet, you'd find them," Rory sighed, crossing her arms, "Hurry up." Lorelai got the idea from this to actually look in her closet. She opened the door, not really thinking that it would work. But there it was, sitting on the floor, looking very lonely. She hopped up and down on one foot, pulling it on and then rushing downstairs. They ran out to Lorelai's jeep, going to go pick up Luke and Jess, whom were standing outside of the diner.

Jess was wearing the same outfit he had worn on the first double date at the weird restaurant, the same black jeans, white shirt, and sports jacket. Luke, who looked very nervous, wore the same thing, except that he was wearing slacks.

"Wow, Rory, twins. I can't tell which one is Luke. Which one of you is Luke?" Lorelai said, pulling up to the curb. Luke got in the passenger seat, and Rory and Jess sat in the back. Each couple kissed hello, and Lorelai started to drive away.

"This is my car, I get to pick the music!" Lorelai said about 15 minutes later, shoving a U2 cd into the stereo.

"Not if it makes the passengers want to throw up!" Luke countered. Rory and Jess were, surprisingly, reading. Both of them had book lights clipped to the top. Rory, however, had hers clipped to the top of the folder that held Jess's manuscript. She had nearly forgotten about it, and was reading the first page.

"Life sucks. It's long; it's hard; it just sucks. People hurt you, betray you, rip your heart out. The walk over you, they use you, they destroy you. It's rare to find someone that doesn't nearly kill you. It's even more rare to come across someone who helps you, who you need. And almost impossible to keep them. There's a girl in my life, an ex-girlfriend, really. We were together when I was stupid. She turned my life around completely." Rory started to turn the page, but the rest of the pages just had notes scribbled on them.

"Jess? Where's the rest of it?" she asked, poking his arm.

"Gone."

"Why?!"

"I didn't know what else to write."

"Oh."

"I was going to write about you…"

"Why me?"

"You've changed my life so much."

"Me?"

"Yes, you." They both stopped talking, just looking at each other.

"Hey! Don't make me come back there!" Lorelai said from the front seat. "Besides, we're here. Damn." Everyone looked up, and the Gilmore mansion loomed ahead of them.

"Wow," Luke whispered, disbelieving. "You lived here?"

"No, living was strictly frowned upon. I had residency here. I lived at the Dairy Queen 3 miles outside of town," Lorelai remarked.

"How many floors does this place have?" Jess asked, getting out of the jeep.

"We can't count that high," Rory said, taking his hand. They all stood in front of the door.

"What, does it open by itself?" Jess asked in his usual Jess-way.

"One, cut the sarcasm. Two, no, I just don't feel like ringing the bell," Lorelai shot back.

"I'll do it," Luke sighed, ringing the bell before Lorelai could protest.

"Mean," Lorelai punched Luke's arm and the door opened, revealing Emily Gilmore, "Hello, mom." Lorelai gave a fake smile.

"Hi, grandma!" Rory's smile was genuine.

"Hello, Mrs. Gilmore. I'm Luke Danes," Luke said, walking in the house and sticking his hand out uncomfortably. Emily shook it, looking at him disapprovingly.

"Jess Mariano," Jess stuck his hand out too.

"Well, now that we all know each other, let's sit down!" Lorelai clapped her hands together before going into the living room.

"Lorelai, what would you like to drink?" Emily asked, standing at the drinks cart in the corner by the stairs.

"Martini, mom."

"And Luke?"

"Uh, I'll take a beer," Luke shrugged, sitting down next to Lorelai on the couch. Lorelai hit his knee and whispered,

"Scotch!" to him frantically.

"A scotch, I mean," he covered quickly. Rory sat on the other side of Luke, with Jess on her other side. It was a very crowded couch.

"Where's grandpa?" Rory asked politely.

"Oh, in his office, of course. Richard! Richard, get out here!"

"I'm right here, Emily, there's no need to yell," Richard said, entering the living room and removing his reading glasses.

"Luke Danes, sir," Luke jumped up to shake Richard's hand.

"Jess Mariano," Jess wasn't as enthusiastic, but he shook Richard's hand and sat back down quickly.

"So, Luke, I have heard quite a bit about your charming little diner," Richard sat in an armchair.

"Yes, I own a diner in Stars Hollow, it was my dad's old hardware store, but I changed it into a diner."

"I see. Now, Jess, what do you do?"

"I'm not working right now, actually. I'm trying to get into publishing."

"Publishing? Well that sounds pleasant."

"Dinner is ready," a maid said before shuffling away.

"Well that sounds wonderful," Richard said, getting back up. Emily, whose lips were pursed so tightly that they were almost non-existent, followed him closely. The Lorelais exchanged glances with each other and the guys, then just got up and sat down. Richard sat on one end, Emily on the other. On the sides were Rory and Lorelai, and Jess across from Rory, Luke across from Lorelai. Salad was served without discussion until Lorelai finally piped up,

"Hey, why do they call the dressing ranch? Is it farmed on plants on a ranch? Little ranch plants? Does it come from pods? Ew, do people squeeze it out?!"

"Ranch dressing is processed in a factory- it's not even real," Luke joked back.

"Yeah, but so is Barbie and nacho cheese, but everyone still loves them."

"Ok, how do you think of Barbie and nacho cheese at once?" Jess asked.

"I guess you could dunk the Barbie in nacho cheese," Rory offered with a shrug.

"Ha, like that one Rory had," Lorelai started laughing, followed by Rory.

"Yeah, I dropped it in a pot of cheese soup!"

"Your mother cooked cheese soup?" Luke asked, faking astonishment.

"Nah, we were at the inn, Sookie was making cheese soup," Rory said.

"Enough!" Emily cut in, "This conversation is nonsense."

"Wow, mom, don't you care about ranch dressing and Barbies and nacho cheese?" Lorelai put her hand to her heart.

"Lorelai, can you possible refrain yourself from inappropriate dinner table discussion for one course?"

"How is that inappropriate? Now, it would be inappropriate if I added in-"

"Lorelai, enough!" Emily slammed her hand down on the table.

"Wow, mom, I think you just caused an earthquake over in California."

"Or Mexico," Rory turned her head to the side in a thoughtful manner.

"Do they have earthquakes in Mexico?" Luke asked.

"I'd guess so. There's ones in southern California, aren't there?" Rory responded, "Oh, Jess! Have you ever been in an earthquake?"

"One, I think," Jess said uninterestingly.

"Did your entire life flash before your eyes?" Lorelai asked, eyes widened in a joking manner. Jess looked up at her.

"No," he said flatly.

"Did the ground move?" Rory asked.

"Seeing as it was one of Earth's plates moving around, yeah, I think the ground moved." Jess said.

"Hey, baby, did the Earth move for you?" Lorelai asked with a giggle, "Dirty!"

"No wonder they picked each other," Emily said to Richard as the maid picked up the salad dishes and replaced them with ones of filet mignon.

"Rosmerta, this looks delicious," Richard commented.

"I agree," Luke raised his finger to add in his comment.

"So, Luke, how big is this diner of yours?" Emily asked, voice dripping with criticism.

"Well, it's about, um, I guess half of the downstairs of your house. It's cozy."

"And by cozy you mean small."

"Not small, really, about the size a diner should be."

"And where do you live?"

"Geez, mom, what are you, the interrogation squad?"

"No, Lorelai, it's fine. I live in the apartment above my diner," Luke said, seemingly normally. _I will not let Emily Gilmore get to me_, he thought to himself.

"Well, an apartment over a diner, how charming," Emily said icily.

"So, Christopher seems to be doing very well," Richard interjected. "He said that he is very happy with that wife of his. I don't believe I've ever met her. But he says that his company is also going very well. Phenomenal, I believe he described it."

"Wow, Dad, you just had to say that?" Lorelai asked angrily.

"I am simply stating how Rory's father is doing."

"No, you're comparing him to Luke."

"Christopher is highly accomplished-"

"Christopher abandoned me and my daughter! And here's Luke, who has always been there for us, and you're making him sound like the terrible person!" Lorelai stood up quickly, slamming her chair back under the table. "Excuse me, but I will be waiting in the car."

"Mom!" Rory yelled after her mom, then chased after her.

"Lorelai, Rory!" Luke called, then got up, said a polite thank you to the Gilmores, and went after the younger Gilmores. Jess just got up and left.

"God, I can't believe them!" Lorelai yelled at the top of her lungs as everyone got out to the driveway.

"Lorelai, calm down, it's ok," Luke said, grabbing her flailing arms. Emily and Richard watched from the window, ears pressed against the pane in an attempt to hear what was going on.

"Luke, they can't do that to you!" Lorelai was now crying. Luke hugged her tightly, and her head rested on his shoulders, as he stroked her hair.

"It's ok, really, I don't mind."

"But I do! They can't hate you! They can't compare you to Chris! He left us, and you've just always been there, and you were even there when were weren't together, and you're more of a dad to Rory than he is, and you're the one who's fixed up our house, and you're just so perfect!" Lorelai said all in one breath.

"Lorelai, calm down. Let's get you back home. I'll make you a cheeseburger." Luke led Lorelai to her car, and Rory and Jess followed awkwardly, not saying anything. Back at the window, Emily was aghast.

"Our daughter, I tell you…" she trailed off, returning to the dining room, where she could be heard shouting, "And that diner man!"

A/N: I liked writing this chapter. Rory and Jess might seem a little out of character in this one, though. This week's episode wasn't the greatest, I don't think. And Lorelai's single, if her divorce is finalized. She hasn't been single for years! Right before Christopher was Luke, and right before him was Jason. So that's…3 years? 4? Wow. And I definitely loved Kirk's line in the diner in this one, so it'll be the quote for this chapter:

Babbette (or was it Miss Patty? I can't remember!): But what if the hen (Lorelai) doesn't belong with the rooster (Luke)? Maybe the hen belongs with a penguin, or an ostrich.

Kirk (After a few lines that I can't remember): Excuse me, but are you insinuating that a hen could mate with an ostrich?

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

Ok, so the episode 18 thing has been confirmed by websites now. But here's the catch- episode 17 will air March 6th. Episode 18 will air in April or May! And there will be no Luke/Lorelai physical contact. No hugging, no nothing. That'll just have to wait, I guess. But I guess these episodes leading up to 18 are just Lorelai, because she can't exactly go over to Luke's and say "Oh, sorry, I want you back now, 3 days after I split up with my husband." She needs time to try to sort out her feelings for anyone.


	8. Backwards

I don't own Gilmore Girls, and if I did it would have gone like this.

Backwards

Lorelai drove back to Star's Hollow, hands gripping the steering wheel as though it would fall off if she didn't. No one said a word. It was dark, and stars shone in the deep black sky. Luke had one eye on Lorelai, thinking that it was probably best that someone watch her, or she might start screaming again. His other eye was out the windshield, watching the stars. They twinkled down at him, grinning and twinkling. He finally tore that one eye off of his girlfriend- she would be fine. He wanted to watch the stars, because they had always fascinated him as a kid. He had a telescope once, but it was gone now. Luke was wondering where it went, when something caught his eye, both of them. A shooting star streaked across the night sky, leaving a slight trail of brightness.

Now, Luke wasn't one for clichés or wishing too much, but he couldn't help himself. _Please let Lorelai and I work out. Please don't let this relationship fail. _He wished silently, eyes squeezed shut tight. _Please let the country song of my life play backwards._ He was thinking of a Rascal Flatts song, called Backwards. It talked about what happens when you play a country song backwards. You get your car back, your first and second wives back, as well as your best friend Jack, and a lot more. However, Luke had his car. It was at the diner. Luke did not want Nicole back. And he didn't have a friend named Jack, and if he did, Jack would not be his best friend, because that spot was already taken by Lorelai. It was just that in that song, everything was happy, and going right. That's what he wanted. He wanted this country song to play backwards.

Lorelai pulled up to the diner and stopped at the curb to let Jess and Luke out.

"Are you ok?" Luke asked her, eyes full of concern.

"I'm fine. Are you ok? You're the one who got verbally assaulted," Lorelai spat bitterly.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Luke leaned in for a quick kiss before getting out of the car and waving goodbye. Jess got out right after him.

"Hey, mom?" Rory asked as Lorelai pulled away and went off down the street.

"Yeah?"

"Do you really think grandma and grandpa would just humiliate Luke like that?"

"Um, excuse me, but were you at the same dinner that I was at?"

"Yeah, but I didn't think that they would do that."

"You have obviously never met your grandparents," Lorelai said angrily as she pulled into her driveway, slammed her door shut behind her, and walked away. The front door slammed almost as loudly as the car door had, and Rory was worried. She knew that her mom really cared about Luke, but Lorelai was _really_ mad. She also looked like she was about to cry.

"Mom? Mom!" Rory yelled, entering the house. A shoe flew down the stairs, narrowly missing her left arm. "Hey! Don't throw shoes at me!" Rory picked up the shoe and threw it back up the stairs. It hit the wall and bounced off, leaving a scuff the same color as the black pumps.

"I'm going to bed," Lorelai called down, without even sticking her head out of her bedroom door. Rory slunk into the kitchen, looking for something to eat. A box of Krispie Kreme donuts sat on the counter, and Rory quickly opened the top. A half dozen gleaming, sweet donuts looked back at her. She took the entire box into her bedroom and set it on her desk, which she pulled a chair up to, along with some paper.

Flicked a pen back in forth in her fingers, one end hit the paper, then the other, then the other, and then the other, in a steady beat. Lane would be proud. Rory set the pen down, and then dialed Lane's number.

"Hello?" Lane asked cheerfully.

"Hey, Lane!" Rory got out of her chair and sat down on her bed, holding a pillow to her stomach.

"So, how was the dinner?"

"Terrible, actually. Mom stormed out when my grandparents started insulting Luke."

"Wow."

"Yeah, and now she got home and went straight to bed. Well, after she threw her shoe down the stairs at me."

"How did Luke take it?"

"He seemed fine, I guess. I don't know."

"And Jess?"

"They didn't get around to him."

"I guess that's good," Lane sat down behind her drum set, her fingers loosely in her hands. She tapped out a beat, but didn't touch her drums.

"I don't know. Luke didn't seem very shaken, but mom was literally shaking."

"Did they know that?"

"Yes," Rory twiddled with her hair before falling from a seated position to having her head at the foot of her bed, lying on her stomach.

"So, how are things with you and Jess?"

"Pretty good," Rory couldn't conceal her smile, "He's been so wonderful. He really has gotten better."

"I'm happy."

"Yeah, me too. Lane, can I ask you something?" Rory inhaled and held the air in.

"Sure."

"How do you know if you're in love with somebody?" Rory exhaled.

"I don't know. I've never been in love with anyone."

"Me neither."

"What about Dean?"

"I don't know. I think I loved him, but I was too young to be in love with him."

"There's a difference?"

"I think so. I mean, if you're in love with someone, it's like you're head over heels."

"Wow. I never knew there was a difference. Why, do you think you're in love with Jess?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Have you told him that?"

"No. Should I?!"

"I don't know. Have you…"

"Have I what?"

"You know, done anything?"

"Oh, um, yes," Rory blushed a deep scarlet.

"Then maybe he already knows."

"I still think that maybe I should tell him."

"Maybe."

"But I can't exactly go up to him and be like 'oh, hey, Jess? I'm in love with you' or anything."

"So tell him on a date."

"Should I ask him on the date?"

"Sure."

"Ok, thanks, Lane," Rory beamed.

"Talk to you later."

"Bye."

"Bye."

The next day, Lorelai was up early. She looked particularly cheery, too.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Rory asked as she ambled out of bed at half past noon.

"Nothing's wrong, sweets. Are you ready to go to the diner? Because I'm starving."

"Yeah, sure." They rode in the Jeep, too lazy to walk. Lorelai hopped out, and literally skipped up to the door, over to the counter, where she sat down with her elbows on the counter and chin in her hands.

"What can I get ya?" Luke asked.

"A kiss, for starters," Lorelai laughed, giving Luke a peck on the lips, "and a blueberry muffin."

"Geez, mom. Don't do that," Rory said.

"Do what?"

"Kiss Luke in front of me."

"Why?"

"It's weird."

"You kiss Jess in front of me."

"Oh."

"One muffin. Rory, do you want anything?" Luke asked, giving Lorelai a muffin.

"Coffee and pie."

"Oooh! Pie sounds good! I want some, too," Lorelai added in.

"You have to have something other than pie," Luke said, disgusted.

"I do not. Besides, I have a muffin," Lorelai stated as she picked off a large blueberry and threw it at Luke. It left a small blue mark before falling to the ground.

"One, a muffin is not enough. Two, you just stained my shirt."

"So take it off. Oh! Dirty."

"Mom," Rory said, embarrassed. She looked around for Jess, but didn't see him, "Luke? Is Jess here?" she asked.

"Yeah, upstairs."

"I'm going to go talk to him," Rory got up to leave.

"Oh, no, you're not," Lorelai stopped her.

"Why?"

"It's going to get all Cinemax at night up there. Get him to come down here."

"Mom."

"Just yell up the stairs."

"You have got to be kidding me."

"JESS!! FIRE!!! RORY'S ON FIRE!!!!!!!!" Lorelai yelled at the top of her lungs. There was a loud crash as the door flew open in alarm. There was the sound of pounding footsteps and then louder crashes than before. Jess had fallen down the stairs. He tumbled down and fell out of the curtain. Lorelai nearly fell off of the barstool laughing, but Luke and Rory rushed over to him.

"Are you ok?" Luke asked, helping him up.

"I'm fine," Jess looked at Rory, "you're not on fire."

"Gee, I'm sorry."

"So what's up?" Jess asked, obviously preferring not to mention the fact that he had just fallen down the stairs.

"I just wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Do you want to go out somewhere tonight? To the movies? Dinner?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Ok. I'll come by here around 6, I guess."

"Ok."

"Ok." Lorelai looked over at her daughter and Jess.

"I guess that leaves my apartment free," Luke said to her.

"I guess that does."

"Want to come over?"

"Sure."

"Luke!" Kirk yelled as he entered the diner. His clothes were ripped and he was limping.

"Oh my gosh! Kirk! What happened?" Lorelai asked.

"No time…explain..." Kirk wheezed, "where…spatula."

"Why the hell do you need a spatula?" Luke asked.

"Raccoon…bad…"

"Ok, Kirk, we're gonna need a little more than that. What about a raccoon?" Lorelai pushed.

"I had…cheese…out of nowhere…evil…3rd time…week…"

"Are you being harassed by a raccoon?" Luke seemed half amused.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Don't…know…spatula!"

"Kirk, a spatula is not going to help you," Luke said.

"What…will?"

"Are you provoking the raccoon?"

"Tried…pet…"

"Kirk! You cannot pet a raccoon!" Lorelai yelled.

"Now…attack…aagghh!"

At 5:30 that night, Rory and Lorelai got into Rory's car to drive to the diner. Rory was taking Jess to a movie, and Lorelai and Luke were just going to hang around. Rory dropped Lorelai off, and Jess took her spot in the front passenger seat. Rory drove down the street to the movie theatre.

"Rory? What are we going to watch?" Jess asked. Rory froze. She had no idea.

"Oh man. I don't know what Kirk's showing!" Rory gripped the steering wheel tightly. Tonight was supposed to be perfect!

"We can see," Jess said as they pulled up to the small theatre. Rory ran ahead Jess and nearly tackled Kirk.

"Kirk! What are you showing tonight!" she asked frantically.

"Well, it's one of my favorites, the first 'Godzilla' in its original black and white format."

"Godzilla???!!!" Rory exclaimed. Godzilla was not romantic!

"Jess, I'm so sorry. I had a plan and everything-" she said to Jess.

"It's fine, calm down. Let's just go… to the bridge or something," Jess suggested.

Lorelai ran up the stairs to Luke's apartment and opened the door without knocking.

"Announcing Lorelai Gilmore!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"You're loud," Luke smirked as Lorelai plopped herself down on his couch next to him. CNN was on.

"Why are you watching CNN?" she asked.

"I wasn't. You sat on the remote."

"Oh. So what were you watching?"

"The Discovery Channel."

"You were not," Lorelai narrowed her eyes, "you're such a geek!" she kissed Luke's cheek.

"Yes, but I'm a healthy and knowledgeable geek."

"And you're pretty damn hot, too."

"Geez." Lorelai curled up next to Luke, and he gently stroked the top of her head. Lorelai gushed. She felt so comfortable, so free, around Luke. He was so perfect, and he always had been. In a cliché way, he completed her. She smiled and leaned into him. This was perfect. They were perfect.

Jess took Rory's hand.

"Come on, let's go," he said before pulling her away. They ran to the little bridge, laughing, and then stopped to sit. Rory took off her shoes and swung her legs so that they dangled to the water, her toes lightly skimming the surface. The moon glowed above them, a smiling face in the dark. Rory chuckled to herself.

"This is really where we began, isn't it?" she asked, looking at Jess.

"I guess it is," Jess said distantly, sitting down next to Rory.

"I'm sorry about the movie, I wanted tonight to be perfect."

"Rory, it doesn't have to be perfect. I love you," Jess had only told Rory this once, but this time he wasn't running away. Rory had a plan, a list; actually, of things to say before she told Jess she was in love with him. But now, just like the last time he had said he loved her, everything was gone. Rory's mind was blank.

"I'm in love with you. Completely and totally in love with you," Rory said finally.

"Rory, I have loved you since I first met you. I'm not that same 17-year-old kid anymore. I'm different. You changed me. You are my everything. You are perfect, and smart, and gorgeous. I never want to loose you ever again. I know we've only been back together for a while, but, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, will you marry me?" Jess spoke steadily, then reached into his jacket pocket, fishing for a ring box. He pulled it out and opened it, revealing a simple but elegant silver band with a .5-carat diamond.

Tears shimmered at the edges of both of their eyes. Rory opened her mouth to speak, trembling.

"No," she said through her tears.

A/N: I am so sorry for the wait! I couldn't think of a thing to write, until I got hit with a million ideas last night. But most of those will be in the next chapter. Also, this story is up to 65 pages long! Woo hoo!

OK, I loved a lit of quotes from last week's episode!:

Logan: My phone was on off

Rory: Who knew New York was the bald guy capital of the world?

Lorelai: I think that's on their license plate.

Mama Kim: You did not come to a complete stop! And use your blinkers!

Lane: Will you be their Lorelai Gilmore?


End file.
